Final Fantasy 8 Next Generation
by Aqua Azuresky
Summary: Nineten years after the Sorceress' war, the world becomes rocked by deadly events. Alex, Garden's first medically trained SeeD, joins the next generation of heroes in an effort to stop this new force. Then again, the good guys always win, right?
1. Kadowaki's Assistant

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
Quick Notes: This is all roughly 19 years after the events in Final Fantasy 8. Couples are Squall/Rinoa, Zell/Selphie, Quistis/Seifer, and Rajin/Fujin. Irvine will be with just about any woman he can get.  
  
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Chapter 1: Kadowaki's Assistant.  
  
The old disciplinary comittee was standing in front of the infirmary, chatting it up without a care in the world.  
  
"Can't belive it, Squall totally hammered me in a duel yesteday." Seifer groaned, holding a bandage on his forehead. Squall had beat him upside the head with the flat side of his gunblade.  
  
"You are getting old, ya know." Rajin teased Seifer.  
  
"QUIET!" Fujin kicked her husband in the shin, causing Rajin to howl in pain. He still hadn't thought about getting shin gaurds. "WHIMP!"  
  
The trio talked about small things for a while until Seifer spotted a student "speeding".  
  
"Speeding." Seifer pointed out. "Let's get him."  
  
"CAUTION!" Fujin yelled a moment too late as the violator knocked them all down, blitzing straight through them and directly into the infirmary.  
  
"Sorry!" The kid yelled. He had also said something else but the comittee couldn't hear it.  
  
Doctor Kadowaki stood over a sick and pale patient, Selphie Dincht, angry over her inability to control the situation and cure her patient. Just then, a seventeen year old cadet slammed through the door and into the infirmary, exausted and gasping for breath. He had a lightly built body, covered by the typical blue and silver cadet uniform worn by all SeeD candidates. The Doc always thought he was the spitting image of Zell, minus the gravity defying hairdo and tatoo. He did have the deep glacier blue eyes and the dirt blond hair, worn short with the bangs hanging in his face.  
  
"Good, you finally got here Alexander." Doc said wearily.  
  
"What's wrong?" Alexander immediatly began to check Selphie out.  
  
"Grat poision, it's mutated through cross breeding with some other creature. We're out of remedies and antidotes, plus, you know I can't use spells."  
  
"Yes ma'am." Alexander wasted no time and cast Esuna, holding his hand over Selphie's face. She immediatly began to show signs of recovery, regaining color within seconds.  
  
"Thank you Alexander. That will be all."  
  
"Sorry for my absence."  
  
"It's okay, you were at the Fire Cavern. How'd you do anyhow?"  
  
"Eight minutes, fifty-two seconds."  
  
"Wow. You got to be the first medic to do that." Docs yes had seemed to grow twice as large.  
  
"I'm the first medic in SeeD history. Of course I am the first."  
  
"You got me there. I'll page you if I need anything."  
  
"Yes ma'am." Alex turned and bumped into Seifer. "Excuse me."  
  
"You aren't going anywhere." Seifer wouldn't move out of the doorway. "Speeding and reckless behavior, those are some pretty serious crimes, little boy."  
  
Doc sighed and spoke up for Alexander. "He just got done saveing her life, so bug off Seifer."  
  
"Thanks Doc." Alexander moved Seifer aside but was now blocked by the rest of the posse. "Why me?" Alexander groaned.  
  
"Write up a ticket, Fujin." Siefer laughed. "Speeding and reckless behavior. That's at least four detentions."  
  
"To hell if I'm gonna give him a ticket for saving Selphie's life you dumb shitface" Fujin said, making everyones jaws drop to the floor from shock.  
  
"...Ya know..." Rajin began, still in shock. "You just said a whole frickin', grammatically correct, compound-complex sentence. Do it again! Do it again!" Rajin began to laugh. Fujin and Alexander both kicked Rajin in the shin, sending him to the floor howling in pain. Alexander gave Fujin a nod, jumped over Rajin, and ran out the door. Seifer started after him until Doc stopped him.  
  
"Don't try, he'll use haste." Doc laughed  
  
"Son of a bitch!" Seifer glared at Fujin.  
  
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Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me.  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	2. Lucca

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
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Chapter 2: Lucca  
  
"Hey Irvine! What's going on?" Alexander waved to Irvine in the cafeteria.  
  
"Hey there! Why did you go and split on me after the Fire Cavern test?" Irvine slapped Alexander a high-five.  
  
"Just another emergency at the infirmary."  
  
"Oh, well. Anyway, I've been your teacher for these past years, right?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Well. I never taught you the one lesson all young guys such as yourself need to know. The ultimate lesson, in fact. I think it's time you knew this."  
  
"Ultimate lesson? What?" Alexander definitly had a bad feeling about this.  
  
"Getting the ladies. If you can do that, you are set for life." Everyone at Garden knew that Irvine was the all-time leader in sirke-outs. But, he did have the highest all-time home run record at Galbadia.  
  
"This won't turn out well." Alexander muttered to himself.  
  
"What'd you say?"  
  
"I said, this should be swell."  
  
"Oh, okay. Now watch the master in action." Irvine struted up to the nearest lady, of which he had no idea who it was. Then, it was time to observe. "Hey there. How about you and me go kick it along for a while?"  
  
Quistis turned around to face Irvine. "In your dreams Irvine. You are so pathetic." Alexander fell over laughing almost immediatly.  
  
"Alex, buddy, shut up." Irvine hung his head in disgrace, especially since Alexander, his scared-of-dating friend, could easily do better. He seriously thought his pick-up line was perfect too.  
  
After Quisis got done with her massive tounge-lashing, Irvine decided it was Alexander's turn to try his hand at getting the ladies. Irvine taught Alexander his old standby, a pick-up line that never failed him in Galbadia. Alexander had his doubts about the line but he couldn't protest as he was shoved into one of the female students.  
  
"Sorry! Irvine," Alexander looked around for Irvine, who had mysteriously disappeared. "Damn. Where'd he go?"  
  
"It's okay." The girl laughed for a second. Alexander turned around and noticed Irvine had pushed him into the hottest girl in Garden, of whom he had no chance with. She was a slightly short blonde with a slight level of toning that actually seemed to make her more appealing. She wore the typical SeeD cadet uniform, so most of her body was hidden. Although he was a little towards the flat side, her most appealing feature had to be her face. High cheekbones, the cute small nose, perfect lips, and those eyes, the light blue pools of beauty set in her face. She could get any guy in the school by just looking at him.  
  
"Alex! The pick-up line! Now!" Somehow a bush was whispering to him.  
  
"Oh! Yuo have a pick-up line? You must be a comedian in your spare time." She laughed.  
  
"Sorry, I'd rather not have my face mashed down my throat." Alex shook his head. "And, I'd rather not become the laughing stock of the entire school."  
  
"How about this? If the pick-up line works, then you just got yourself a date. If not, the talking bush gets the beating of it's life." When she said this, the bush seemed to shake a bit.  
  
"I warned you." Alexander cleared his throat. "Hey there! Somebody better call heaven, because you have a nice can! So, want to get busy?"  
  
She almsot fell over, laughing at the world's worst pick-up line. "Well, the talking bush is gonna die." She got up and went behind the bush. A series of scary sounds came from behind the bush, such as whimpering, crying, pleading, calls for 'Mommy', and a very disturbing ripping sound lasting at least five seconds. Afterwards, she walked back to Alexander, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"He's not dead, right?" Alexander said with a certain amount of faked fear.  
  
"He'll be okay, his dorky hat on the other hand. Well, lets just say it's hopeless." She laughed.  
  
"Poor hat. What did it ever do to you?" Alexander couldn't help but laugh as well.  
  
She wiped her right hand on her pants twice and extended it to Alexander. "I'm Lucca. Nice to meet you."  
  
"I'm Alexander. It's been nice seeing you beat up Irvine." He shook Lucca's hand firmly.  
  
Zell walked into the cafeteria looking around for something. He spotted Lucca and waved. "Hey! What's up?"  
  
"Hi dad! Nothing much. How's mom doing?" Lucca hugged her dad.  
  
"She's making a full recovery. Kadowaki said she'd be able to get out of bed in about two hours."  
  
"Great."  
  
"Oh, yeah. How'd you do on the Fire Cavern test?"  
  
"Five twenty-one" Lucca said proudly.  
  
"Hey! Uh the doc told me to give her assistant a message. Do you know who he is?"  
  
"Here." Alexander waved from behind Lucca.  
  
"Lucca, you're dating Alex!"  
  
"No I'm not dad. We just met ten minutes ago." Lucca looked unecessarily embarassed though.  
  
"Oh, Alex. You have the rest of the night off."  
  
"Thanks. I just hope Irvine's okay. He hasn't said anything in a while." Alexander tried to look over the bush.  
  
Crying could be heard from behind the bush. "My... Favorite... Stetson..."  
  
"What the? Was there something in those hot dogs I had for lunch?" Zell asked.  
  
"No. That's Irvine. He tried to use a pick-up line." Lucca explained.  
  
"That explains it. Alex, you didn't actually take any dating advice from him, did you?" Zell was concerned, and for good reason. Irvineism never worked for anybody.  
  
"No. Aside from 'Don't be like Irvine'." Alexander laughed.  
  
"Well, let's go check on mom." Lucca began to leave. "See-ya Alex!"  
  
"See-ya."  
  
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Thanks to you guys that have already reviewed. I appricate it. No flames yet. Yay!  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me.  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	3. Nightmares

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
WARNING: The chapter 3-A is rated "R".  
  
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Chapter 3-A: Crimson Dreams.  
  
Alexander seemed restless while he was asleep, turning, groaning, and shaking as if it were negative one-hundred degrees in his room. He was having a nightmare, one of those that seemed to be all too real for images brought about by sleep.  
  
He saw a dark and demolished town, defiled by the presence of human blood on just about every surface. Lightning struck inside the town, causing buildings to catch fire and crumble to the ground. Gunshots could be heard constantly, as were the roars of beasts and the screaming of doomed people. The disgusting scent of burning flesh came to him as if he had really been there before. He felt like hurling already but he couldn't wake up, couldn't look away from the forsaken town dyed crimson.  
  
He saw a single kid, a blonde five year old covered in dirt and rags for clothing. He was running chaotically, down seemingly random alleyways and through demolished buildings. He stoped suddenly and screamed, turning tail and running the other way. That didn't stop him from seeing a T-Rexaur wipe out a group of people in seconds though. A little girl, only his age, tried to run away from it, only to be pinned down with a giant red foot while her parents were torn to shreds by the monsters teeth, sending bits and pieces of the people to the ground. It's massive tail crashed into a building, creating an avalanche of wood, brick, and plaster cascading onto a few more unfortunate souls, mainly children.  
  
The kid ran into the town square, watching in horror as a group of soldiers was incinerated with a single blast of flaming breath from a Red Dragon. The monstrocity spoted the kid, immediatly giving chase. The T-Rexaur from before also gave chase, dismissing a soldier with a single swing of its tail. With the panic, the kid ran into a dead end, hiding behind a barrier of barrels and crates, nothing too hard for those cretures to remove. Behind him, a building burst into pieces as a Black Dragon erupted from the wreckage and immediatly spotted the one cowering child. Right next to him, an Abyss Worm rose from the cobblestones and high into the air. All the child could do was sit and cry with fear. The Black Dragon lunged its gaping hole it called a mouth towards the scared boy.  
  
That's where the nightmare ended, only a fraction of a second before the child was put to an end. Alexander shot staight up and yelled in absolute panic and fear, breathing heavily afterward and wiping sweat off of his forehead. He picked up his blanket and wrapped himself in it, shivering form a feeling of pure fear.  
  
"Why do I see that? Every time I close my eyes." Alexander tried to stay awake to avoid having to see it again.  
  
Despite his best efforts, it was still close to midnight and he passed out without warning. He saw the end all over again, from the child hiding, to the apparent end. A second before the final bite, there was a brilliant flash of light. It seemed to comfort him, as if the whole thing hadn't happened at all and everything was peaceful. As the light faded, he heard an ear-piercing screech, similar to that of an eagles call. When the flash faded, the skies were bright but the town was still soaked in the blood of its inhabitants, except for one anomaly. Every soldier, adult, and child were alive, even the ones he'd seen incinerated or torn to shreds. Cildren were running in the streets laughing, adults were laughing and rebuilding the demolished city. Even the soldiers had shed thier normal milataristic attitude and were mingling with the townspeople. The one child was nowhere to be seen, not a single person even looked for him.  
  
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Chapter 3-B: The Seed Test Briefing.  
  
Alexander woke up in the early morning to a sweat-drenched bed and a tear-soaked pillow. He shoved the sheets and pillow case into the laundry basket and took a shower (sorry, no description for that ;P ). Afterwards, he was about to put on his SeeD cadet uniform when he noticed the red cross on the back. That was supposed to gaurantee his saftey, but to him it looked like a giant target saying "Shoot me please!" He grudgingly put it on and walked to the library.  
  
When he arrived, the current librarian was helping another person so Alexander snuck off to the back to log onto one of the net-enabled computers. The computer he sat at wasn't logged off, so doing the right thing, he tried to log off until something caught his eye. A typed document from about tweleve years ago labled, "The Winhill Flash Incident." Alex began to read the details, zero casualties on each side, over two point five million in damage. His eyes widened in fear as he read the story, it was exactly like his dream, down to the flash. He was about to read the hypohesis of what happened when he noticed the site; OccultFan.com.  
  
Alexander beathed a sigh of relief and dismissed the whole thing as a fake. "Odd stuff. I really should stop reading this stuff."  
  
Three loud bells rung from the intercom. "All SeeD candidates please report to the first floor directory. Repeat, all SeeD candidates please report to the first floor directory." Alexander immediatly left, logging off the computer.  
  
He reached the directory in a minute flat and walked up to Cid for his assignment.  
  
"Name?" Cid asked without even looking.  
  
"Saiko, Alexander." He saluted his headmaster.  
  
"Psycho? Like psychotic?"  
  
Alexander hated that joke. "No, sir. Saiko, S-a-i-k-o."  
  
"You are with group E. Your leader is, Lucca Dincht."  
  
"Thank you, sir." Alexander saluted and began to walk away.  
  
"Don't be so tense, it's bad for your health." Cid smiled and took care of the next candidate.  
  
Alexander found Lucca almost immediatly. He found it hard to miss her when she ran right into him from behind. Somehow, Alexander managed to keep his footing. Lucca fell over backwards.  
  
"Are you okay?" Alexander laughed and extended a hand down to help her up.  
  
She took his hand and pulled herself up. "Of course." She dusted herself off quickly and smiled. "This is awesome! I'm the leader of group E."  
  
"Yeah, I know. I'm one of the members of group E."  
  
The other two members arrived shortly. One was a short, stocky, brown-haired sniper named Carl. The other was a seven foot, five inch tall behemoth of a man called Lue. He was a specialist in using a very large, very heavy sledge hammer. They all left in one of the cars for the Balamb harbor, arriving in thirty minutes. Lucca had the annoying habit of shadowboxing when she was bored. Alexander was dodging stray kicks all the way there. They all rushed onto thier boat, gathered in the breifing lounge, and left for thier mission.  
  
Xu walked to the front of the room to give the group their mission and breif them on the current situation. "We have recived distress calls coming from the Dollet Dukedom Parliment seventy-five hours ago. They have suffered heavy losses and have requested back up from Garden. Also, they have a hospital filled with dying soldiers that have no chance of survival."  
  
"That's where I come in, right?" Alexander checked his estimate.  
  
"Correct. Group E is to escort thier medic unit to the hospital in the main town square area. That is why you have an extra unit in your group. This is a dangerous mission, there have been reports that there are special troops specifically looking to take out medical units."  
  
"But that goes against Wartime Amendment A-502-C!" Lucca instantly shot up.  
  
"Correct. You will also have SeeD support within fifty meters of your location at all times in case there is a anti-med troop attack. You will stay at your designated location until 1700 hours, where upon you will withdraw with all other SeeD candidates back to the drop zone. You have two hours until the landing. Prepare yourselves for the landing while you can. Good luck."  
  
  
  
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Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. I am really sorry if you didn't like the bloody part, it won't be like that again.  
  
PrincessLorele: You gotta keep wirting too!  
  
Cloud-123: You might have to wait a few chapters to see anything of Squall.  
  
I got good news! I've written way past this point and can post it all at any time.  
  
But, it's all on notebook paper and typing is roadkill on the wrists.  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	4. The SeeD Test

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks  
  
WARNING: There are some disturbing parts.  
  
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Chapter 4: The SeeD test.  
  
Alexander could see Dollet, only two minutes until the drop ship left them at the shore. Bombs exploded with deafening blasts, the constant chattering of gunfire could be heard over the confused mass of shouts and orders. Soldiers could be seen running towards their next fight, some limping or holding wounds on their bodies. He found himself ready to get out there, desiring nothing more to get out there and finish his mission just to get away from the bloodshed. His team stood ready at the deployment cabin of the ship, Lucca in the lead and the two others on either side of him. A loud crushing sound and a fierce jolt signaled that they had landed on the beach and the mission was to begin. The hatch doors opened and the team hit the ground running, heading straight up the stairs and into the numerous streets and alleys of Dollet.  
  
Lucca paused before heading into the town. "Our target is the main square. Once we get there, Alexander is to perform his duties at the clinic. The rest of us are to keep the main square secured after liberating it of all enemy forces. Let's go." She waved the group forward and the team began running to the center of the town. Carl took care of most approaching soldiers with his rifle, clearing the way into the square quickly.  
  
Once in the square, Alexander and Lue ran towards the clinic. As they got to the front steps, a group of SeeDs from Galbadia stepped in the way. All of them were gunblade users, the leader with an especially intricate design on his blade. The leader made his way to Alexader slowly, waving his sword in front of him like a toy.  
  
"So, you're the medic, eh?" He said. His voice was dark and full of scorn. Alexander instantly knew there was going to be a showdown. "You are pathetic. Trying to save lives, in the middle of a warzone no less. Fool." He spat on Alexanders face.  
  
"Eight SeeDs versus only us four cadets. This'll be overkill." Lue chuckled, he thought that "War SeeDs" were inferior to the SeeDs from other Gardens. "Galbadia never did breed a soldier who was any good. Except maybe Irvine."  
  
"Inferior fool. We are the infamous Gunblade Squad, the invincible knights of battle." The leader glared at Lue, daggars of hatred piercing into Lues confident eyes.  
  
Alexander backed up slowly, he was next to useless in battle and had to get out of there. These guys semmed to be the type that went after medics, despite world wide laws.  
  
"Stay where you are, worm." The leader pointed his blade towards Alexanders throat, only inches away from cutting into him.  
  
Alexander looked to Lucca and Carl from the corner of his sight, able to tell they were in position for an attack. He sighed and slumped as if he were giving up, adding a false sense of security to the Gunblade Squad. In an instantaneous move, Alexander lept back and launched what had to be his favorite spell. Alexander whispered the word "Nocturne" and a thick black gas quickly concealed the entire scene, accompanied by a high pitched noise that was barely audiable. Six of the support members fell down immediatly, knocked into a deep sleep by the effects of the spell. The seventh was easily picked off by Carl and the leader had to get through Lue before he could get anywhere else.  
  
Lue had surprisingly good control of his hammer, keping pace with the quicker swipes of the gunblade. He had to keep on the defensive to keep from being hacked to pieces by the sharp blade. Carl had no chance of a clear shot and Lucca didn't have any way to stop from being hacked up by the blade since she used her fists like her father. As for Alexander, he couldn't cast a spell without having the chance of hitting the wrong target, so it was up to Lue. He sidestepped an downward slash and parried a rising follow-up slash. A streak of blood ran from Lue's arm as he took a shot to the arm for the opportunity for a strike. He swung horizontally towards the body and caught the over-extended leader in the chest with the full force of one hudred and fifty pounds. The leader flew back wildly, going for at least fifteen feet until he hit a flipped-over car.  
  
"Took you long enough." Carl elbowed his teammate in the side, laughing slightly.  
  
"Crap! I got blood all over my sleeve. I don't suppose our medic can cast a laundry cleaning spell." Lue laughed along with his buddy.  
  
Alexander instead cast a cure spell. "Sorry, never heard of that one."  
  
"Hey, Alex. Get yourself into the clinic, there are some seriously injured people in there waiting for you." Lucca lightly pushed him in the right direction. As she did, a blast shell hit the clinic, blasting the entire building into nothing more than small fragments.  
  
"My mission has been compromised. I'll search for survivors while you all do your mission." Alexander started climbing over debris while the others went about their part. He searched for the greater part of an hour, finding only the deceased bodies of those he was supposed to save. When it all seemed lost, he spotted someone pinned under a piece of lumber. In a mad rush, he arrived to see the trapped one was a young lady in a black dress, most likely a civilian left unevacuated. He lifted the log off of her, barely able to move the smouldered wood aside. He cast his most powerful curing spell, Cura, on her twice.  
  
She moaned quietly and got up. She had a thin and flat figure, barely shorter than Aleander. Her long, raven-black hair was singed and messy but she managed to still look fairly attractive. Her eyes scared Alexander out of his wits though, blood red orbs set in such an innocent and cute face. It just didn't seem right. She grinned, grabbing Alexander by the collar and raising her right palm to his face.  
  
"There you are, Beta Five Zero Six. I'll be happy to eliminate you." She cast firaga directly in his face, making him fly out of her grip and into a demolished wall. Alexander could only look on as she slowly walked towards his position. "An ingsignifacnt piece of data."  
  
He started having flashbacks, quick still-frame pictures of the nightmares that kept him awake. Between this, blacking out for a second, and seeing the girl walk towards him, he knew he didn't stand a chance. He notices flames had surrounded him and the girl, other fires rising up fiercely and spreading quickly.  
  
"A mistake. It is suprising how much trouble a mistake so small can cause." She laughed smugly and looked down at him with pure evil seeming to flow throughout her body.  
  
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Lucca saw Alexander on the ground, helpless to gaurd against the girls attacks. She yelled out in desperation. "Alex!" Flames had risen to the point where she couldn't get to him, only able to watch while he suffered. The girl immediatly spotted Lucca, grinning wildly.  
  
"You," She picked him up and began to cradle Alexander in her thin arms. "You want this monstrocity? You care about this worthless thing's life." She laughed crazily and threw him to the ground.  
  
"You little bitch! Get your ass over here so I can kill you!" Lucca yelled.  
  
Instead, the girl held her palm over Alexander and used her power to lift him into the air. He began to shake slightly, resisting what seemed to be a telekinetic skill. His arm gave in, the elbow joint snapping and going the reverse direction, his shoulder twisted around, inverting the whole joint and dislocating several bones. The other arm got the same treatment, plus a twisted finger. His legs went next, fracturing and inverting joints with loud and painful snaps. To finish it all off, his neck was twisted around backwards and his twisted and mauled body thrown down lifelessly onto a metal rod, impaling him through his stomach.  
  
Lucca fell to her knees in pain and sadness. "You sadistic bitch." She said over sobs, punching the ground once.  
  
The flames got bigger still, obscuring all view of the body and its tormentor.  
  
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Squall oversaw the Dollet fight, checking over stats and files. On the monitor, he saw a small flash near the town square. In the blink of an eye, a nova ripped through the town, wrecking anything still standing.  
  
"What the hell?" Zell stood behind Squall, staring wide-eyed at the blast.  
  
Squall instantly checked the casualy count. Next to Balamb Garden, a large zero appeared as the flash dissapeared. Their allies casualties had stayed the same and the opposing forces list had gone up by at least five to ten times what was seen earlier.  
  
"I thought we had lost fifteen cadets and SeeDs already." Zell couldn't figure it out.  
  
"... Whatever..." Squall tried to shake off any concern. "This is a good thing anyway."  
  
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The flames had died down to nothing and the town had become quieter. Lucca picked herself off the ground and saw no sign of the girl from earlier. She rushed down to Alexander, suprised to see him without a pole sticking through his chest.  
  
"Alex! Are you okay?" She shook him wildly, hoping he hadn't dided. She noticed somehing different about him, no twisted body parts, no really serious looking injuries. He had to be alive, she could even feel a pulse. "Wake up Alex, wake up!"  
  
Alexander groaned slighly, barely able to open his eyes. Lucca immediatly lifted his body up and hugged the life out of him.  
  
"S-stop, p-please." Alexander managed to say between choked gasps.  
  
"Sorry." She immediatly lightened her death-grip and laid him down. He began to get up, holding his side with one hand, propping himself up with the other. Lucca helped him up and supported him as they began to walk back to the main square.  
  
"Lucca!" Carl yelled. "Withdraw orders have been sent. We have twenty minutes."  
  
"Help me out with Alex!" She yelled back.  
  
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Alex rested in the infirmary. Nursing a broken set of ribs and a well-healed ankle. Lucca sat by his side when he woke up.  
  
"The results are in. We're to report to the second floor hall. You up to it?" She smiled brightly at him, prodding his good side so he would get up.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
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Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Sorry for the delay, I was vacationing in a place with no computer access. I'll try to keep writing.  
  
I added some quick Squall just 'cause you guys wanted to see him.  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	5. Under Review

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
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Chapter 5: Under Review.  
  
"Well, Squall." Cid reviewed the data from the Dollet liberation. "This is an odd  
  
coincidence. What do you think happened out there?"  
  
"I don't know. But, I don't mind the fact that it happened. The Galbadian SeeDs were  
  
taking a toll on our cadets." Squall had his usual calmness about him and seemed unconcerned  
  
that something of that magnitude had happened.  
  
"It's a good thing for us, sure. But, don't you find that explosion worth looking into?"  
  
"I have Xu working on it right now. How many did we lose?"  
  
"Zero. Even confirmed casualties on our side came back alive."  
  
"How many did they lose?"  
  
"Several thousand."  
  
"As long as the blast was a one-timer, or at least on our side, we'll be okay. I still have a  
  
team investigating but we shouldn't be panicking over this, Cid."  
  
"I just don't like it."  
  
-----------------------X------------------------------------------------X--------------------  
  
Zell, Selphie, Irvine, and Quistis sat at a large table covered in reports. Each one was  
  
looking over the files from the SeeD testing.  
  
"Well, have we all finished?" Quistis tossed another folder onto the table.  
  
"Yeah." Irvine sighed in relief.  
  
"Who are the SeeD worthy candidates?"  
  
"I've got, Dincht, Almsay, C. Leonheart, Striker, and Saiko is a total toss-up." Zell said  
  
tiredly, working non-stop for the past eight hours dealing with boring field reports.  
  
"Let's see. There's Dincht, C. Leonheart, Sakai, Striker, and Falner. Saiko, I just don't  
  
know." Irvine shook his head slowly. he had really hoped Alexander would come through.  
  
"Well, I think Saiko is in." Selphie still had her natural sugar-rush spirit and seemed pretty  
  
excited. "Also, Dincht, Almsay, C. Leonheart, Striker, and Falner are in too.  
  
"All right." Quistis jotted down a few names on a sheet of paper. "Dincht, Striker, C.  
  
Leonheart, they are all in. I think Almsay is in, as well as Falner, Sakai, and possibly Saiko." She  
  
wrote down their names next to those that were already on.  
  
"We need to figure out weather or not Saiko made it." Irvine stretched out and yawned  
  
loudly. "Selphie, you think he's all good. Why not state your case?"  
  
"Gladly." Selphie cleared her throat and tried to deliver the best speech she could. "It is  
  
true that he never had a chance to show off his main purpose because of the barricade created by  
  
the Galbadian SeeDs. But, He showed surprisingly good combat skill during the fights he had  
  
gotten into, dispite not having a weapon or weapons training. If you do recall, his weapons classes  
  
were replaced with medical classes taught by Doctor Kadowaki. He followed his orders right  
  
down to the period and did prove his power with magic and tactics."  
  
"But," Irvine interrupted. "He got his ass kicked by that sixteen year old civilian."  
  
"She doesn't count! Besides, he survived her attack, a very painful Firaga to the face I  
  
might add. A lot of SeeDs can't withstand that."  
  
"True, but he was turned into a human pretzel and left to die."  
  
"The key word being was. He even survived that, finding a way to unpretzelize and keep  
  
himself going."  
  
"Unpretzelize, is that a word?" Zell laughed.  
  
"Hey! Is everyone against me now?"  
  
"No Selphie, you make a good point. He had never registered as deceased, only getting  
  
into a critical condition." Quistis took over for Selphie. "He found some way to turn his chances  
  
around during the camera interference. We also must not forget the blast that resulted in a major  
  
turn around in the battle. I'm gonna put Saiko on the list, unless someone can come up with a  
  
point that would counter any of this."  
  
"That blast resulted in all of our troops being revived." Irvine blurted out almost  
  
immediately.  
  
"The ones affected by that came back without injury. Saiko has been in the infirmary for a  
  
while. "He's in and that's final!"  
  
"I think Irvine is just upset over his hat being ripped." Zell pointed out the Stetson,  
  
strapped together with strips of clear tape.  
  
"If he's in, we're gonna have to play a trick on him, okay?" Irvine took his hat off in  
  
shame, that new one he ordered hadn't arrived yet.  
  
------------------------X---------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Alexander stood next to Lucca in the second floor hall. In all, there were twenty-five  
  
cadets who were divided into seven teams of three and the extra team with four members. One of  
  
the Garden officials walked into the middle of the hall and cleared his throat, getting the attention  
  
of the chatting cadets.  
  
"The new SeeDs will now be announced." He began in a typical calm manner. "Almsay,  
  
Dincht, Falner, C. Leonheart, Sakai, and Striker. Follow me." The man began to walk off towards  
  
the elevator.  
  
"Yes! I'm a SeeD, whoopee!" Lucca jumped up and down, doing her father's signature  
  
victory dance. Alexander clapped and gave his congratulations. She began to walk after the  
  
official, prancing just like her father had when he became a SeeD.  
  
"Saiko." The official turned for a second to deliver a second message. "The Commander  
  
summons you for a different purpose."  
  
Alexander slowly walked along with the group, unsure of what was to happen. He chose  
  
the wrong time to become a pessimist and thought the worst. Whatever it was, it sure wasn't  
  
becoming a SeeD. Lucca instantly stopped prancing and realized that Alexander wasn't going to  
  
be joining her, so she instantly scolded herself for celebrating right in front of him.  
  
-------------------------X----------------------------------------------X--------------------  
  
Alexander stood before the Commander, Squall, his teacher, Irvine, and the headmaster,  
  
Cid. After the salute he listened to what he thought was supposed to be his expulsion.  
  
Squall walked up to Alexander, getting to go first with the "I'm so disappointed speech."  
  
He shook his head at Irvine before doing his part. "All I have to say is that I'm extremely sorry. I'll  
  
let Cid handle the rest."  
  
Cid cleared his throat and began his own speech. "We had high hopes for you to become  
  
our first medical specialist. You could have been something. Unfortunately, you'll be giving up the  
  
cadet uniform you once so proudly marched in."  
  
"Look where your actions have gotten you now." Irvine said with absolute disgust.  
  
"Irvine, please. "We didn't expect any of this out of you. We feared something would  
  
happen, but not anything like this. Your performance has gotten you a one-way ticket to..." Cid  
  
paused for dramatic effect. Alexander kept his cool but knew he was screwed. "... Becoming  
  
a level three SeeD!" Irvine finished the statement with a Bob Barker-style voice. Dispite the good  
  
news, Alexander slumped slightly as if he were expelled.  
  
"Wait a sec," Alexander began to logically think out the entire process. "Bad joke, trying  
  
to scare the life out of me, Stetson held together by tape, Lucca, bad pick-up lines." A few  
  
seconds later he had the solution. "Damn you Irvine!"  
  
"Sorry about this whole thing." Cid gave Alexander his new uniform and diploma. "We are  
  
really glad to have you as our first medical specialist and wish you well in your upcoming life as a  
  
mercenary. Congratulations."  
  
After Alexander escaped from the three pranksters, he left for his room, relieved to get the  
  
heck out of there.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. I'm happy that I got 12 reviews and all, but they're all from only 4 people. It's cool since that means i really hooked a few people, but then again, it doesn't seem like anyone's really reading it.  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	6. The SeeD Ball

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
-------------------X------------------------------------------------X-------------------------  
  
Chapter 6: The SeeD ball.  
  
Lucca sat joylessly in the back of the room as the other SeeDs danced and partied in  
  
celebration of the new group of students fulfilling their dreams and becoming SeeDs. Her new  
  
uniform was a bit small and made her uncomfortable, adding to her already bored mood. She  
  
couldn't stop thinking about Alexander and his failed attempt at becoming a SeeD, dispite having  
  
done pretty well for a medic. It was most likely the girl who caused him to fail, then again, a  
  
Firaga spell to the face is extremely hard to live through, even for trained SeeDs. She was so  
  
consumed by her thoughts that she didn't notice Zell sneak up behind her.  
  
"What's up Lucca?" Zell smiled at his daughter.  
  
Lucca snapped out of her depression when Zell showed up, for some reason he always  
  
managed to cheer her up. "Hey dad! You got me off guard."  
  
"You finally became a SeeD. Shouldn't you be running around with your friends, flaunting  
  
your success?"  
  
"All my friends are with their boyfriends or girlfriends. I'm just hanging back and relaxing."  
  
"I get it. You don't have a date, do you? I didn't have one either when I became a SeeD."  
  
Lucca punched her dad in the shoulder. "Dad! It's not like that! I couldn't care less."  
  
"So how'd Alex do?"  
  
"Shouldn't you know? You are one of the teachers after all. But if you are that forgetful,  
  
he didn't make it."  
  
"Or did he?" Zell had one of those grins he got on his face when he was either showing off  
  
or joking around with someone.  
  
Just as he said that, Alexander walked into the ballroom in his crisp, new SeeD uniform.  
  
Dispite himself claiming to be an undesirable guy, he really did look good in that suit. Irvine  
  
spotted him right away and quickly made his way to his student.  
  
"Hey there Alex. I hope that taught you never to mess with me like that again." Irvine  
  
slapped Alexander hard in the back, sending him forward about a foot or so. "Anyway, I figured  
  
since you just became a SeeD, I'd help you get a date. After all, you couldn't get a date if a  
  
hypnotist made a girl want you."  
  
"I suppose you are gonna show me how it's done?" Alexander suppressed a grin and  
  
managed to sound as he usually did.  
  
"Damn straight. I can get any girl here. As long as they aren't happily married."  
  
"Try that one. She doesn't have ant guy hovering around her, and she quite a good catch."  
  
Alexander pointed to a woman on stage with silver hair and a blue dress. Her back was turned to  
  
the two and was talking to Cid and Edea.  
  
"She isn't like, a million years old, is she?"  
  
"No. She is thirty-eight."  
  
"I'm in, watch the master do his stuff." Irvine began to walk towards the stage. Alexander  
  
decided to find a good view and Lucca. She'd love to see this.  
  
Lucca spotted Alexander walking around in a new SeeD uniform. Dispite her surprise, she  
  
stood up and waved to him.  
  
"Alex! How are you doing?" She trotted up to him, smiling from ear to ear.  
  
"Wait just a sec." Alexander seemed to wave her off easily, concentrating on the stage.  
  
Irvine was just about to unleash his payload. Lucca noticed Irvine too but didn't think anything of  
  
it.  
  
Irvine moved in to his target as soon as Cid and Edea had left. He smiled and fired off a  
  
new line he had come up with. "Hey there. If I could re-arrange the alphabet, I'd put 'U' and 'I'  
  
together." The entire pick up line was picked up the nearby microphone and instantly, the entire  
  
room focused in on Irvine.  
  
"PERVERT!" The woman whirled around and kicked Irvine in the shin. As he fell,  
  
laughter and cheers erupted from the crowd. Fujin had really got her body into the kick as well,  
  
Irvine didn't get up for a good minute.  
  
Alexander laughed to himself, finally evening the score with Irvine. "Sorry Lucca, had to  
  
see that."  
  
Lucca herself was trying her hardest to contain herself. "That was worth it. Anyway,  
  
how'd you get here?"  
  
"Well, Irvine wanted revenge for his Stetson. So, he convinced Cid and Squall to get a  
  
good joke in on me by making me think I had gotten expelled or something."  
  
"Did it work?"  
  
"Yeah. Why do you think he's rolling on the floor in pain?"  
  
Alexander, Lucca, Zell, and a few others talked for a while about ordinary things. The test  
  
seemed to be the main point of the conversation though. A half hour after Irvine failed, he walked  
  
by Alexander with two super-model quality women clinging to him. He stuck his tongue out at  
  
Alexander as he passed and went straight towards the dorms. About that time, the orchestra  
  
started up the waltz music. Zell and Selphie went off to dance, Lucca's friends had gone with their  
  
boyfriends or girlfriends, and it left Lucca and Alexander alone at a large table. While Lucca  
  
contemplated the possibilities of dancing with Alexander, he had been distracted by the sight of  
  
another girl but had lost her almost a soon as he had seen her. Before he could do anything about  
  
it, Lucca grabbed him by the wrist and led him out to the dance floor.  
  
"Lucca? What?" Alexander couldn't get his mind to go straight. He had been quickly  
  
caught off balance by the girl that was now dragging him to the dance floor.  
  
"We're going to dance. Duh!" Lucca laughed at Alexander.  
  
"I can't dance!"  
  
"Yes you can, we were in the same mandatory dance class last semester. And if I  
  
remember correctly, you had the highest grade in the class."  
  
"But, me? Dancing with you. Why?"  
  
"You'd really rather not dance? You're no fun." Lucca made the pouty puppy-dog face all  
  
girls seem to use every once in a while.  
  
"I'll dance. But, I figure you'd rather dance with someone that you're in to."  
  
Lucca laughed. "You'll have to do, c'mon." At that, they began to dance to the beautiful  
  
waltz music the orchestra had selected for the ball. After a good half hour or so of dancing, they  
  
both sat down and began to talk again.  
  
"So how come you don't have a girlfriend, Alex?" Lucca asked curiously. "You should be  
  
covered in chicks by now."  
  
Alexander laughed at the concept of girls swarming around him. "If that were to happen,  
  
I'd take dating advice from Irvine."  
  
"Never, ever, think about taking dating advice from him."  
  
"Yeah, I know. Although he did take two girls up to his dorm."  
  
Lucca laughed a little bit. "He probably paid them."  
  
"Hey Lucca. We gotta go to the bridge now." Selphie had come up from behind Lucca.  
  
"Okay mom. See-ya Alex!" Lucca walked away, waving to Alexander. He took the  
  
opportunity to leave as well, meeting up with Irvine in the dorm halls.  
  
"Alex." Irvine acted tough but broke down quickly. "Thank you so much."  
  
"Huh?" Alexander was purely confused.  
  
"Two girls. Need I say more?"  
  
Alexander could see faint tracings of lipstick all over his face and neck. And Irvine did  
  
seem pretty tired. "After that humiliation? How?"  
  
"Irvine, come on in. We're ready." Both women called from his room.  
  
"Room zero thirteen is your new dorm. See-ya!" Irvine ran off excitedly.  
  
"Okay..." Alexander drew out the "o" syllable excessively. He walked slowly to his new  
  
room and looked at the number on his door. Shaking his head, he walked in to find all his stuff  
  
already moved in. He closed the door behind him and looked at the spacious room. Although he  
  
wasn't supposed to have a roommate, the closet door was shaking slightly. Alexander slowly crept  
  
up on it and quickly opened the door. He was immediately tackled by a bluish-green fox like  
  
creature with an emerald in it's head.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Thanks to  
  
those who have already reviewed, keep them coming!  
  
Also, I would like to apologize to any Irvine fans or anybody who tries to be just like him. I have  
  
added the two ladies at the end as a peace offering, so to speak, and give you my sincerest  
  
apologies.  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	7. A Whole New Team

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
-------------------X------------------------------------------------X-------------------------  
  
Chapter 7: A Whole New Team.  
  
Alexander found himself on the floor, tackled by the little thing. The thing was a strangely cute fox-like creature with bluish-green skin and an emerald stuck in the middle of it's forehead. It was sitting on Alexander's chest happily nudging it's head into Alexander's head.  
  
Alexander rolled over to get the little creature off his chest. "Get off me, little dude!" he groaned tiredly. It began to playfully jump around the room, finally setting itself down onto one of the pillows on his bed. It immediately went to sleep, leaving Alexander with barely any room at all to sleep on the bed. He knew the creature was a Carbuncle, one of the most handy but overlooked Guardian Forces ever seen. While about eighteen years ago, the darker fur color and emerald jewel would have been unique, several new types of Carbuncle had emerged, each with a different support spell ready to launch. He didn't really care about how the little guy got into the closet either, he just was glad he had a new GF. Alexander curled up onto his bed and almost immediately fell asleep.  
  
Normally, as in every time, when he went to sleep, he was plagued by nightmares and never could get a restful sleep. Tonight was different, by all means. He didn't have a single nightmare, only an odd dream, it was absolutely black but a voice could be heard from somewhere inside the darkness.  
  
A little kid laughed happily, as if playing with his friends carelessly. "Come here Carbie!" He enthusiastically shouted. A soft roar, more like a quick bark could be heard every few seconds. All the dream seemed to be was a kid playing with a puppy. Before he knew it, an alarm was interrupting the sounds he was hearing and Alexander had bolted up in response. His Carbuncle also woke up, yawning tiredly. A quick glimpse of the clock said it was seven in the morning, his first full nights rest since he could remember.  
  
"Get up Carbie," Alexander scratched the Carbuncle behind one of it's massively long ears, "it's time to get breakfast."  
  
------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X---------------------  
  
Alexander and "Carbie" had just stuffed themselves when Lucca walked into the cafeteria.  
  
"Alex! There you are." Lucca jogged up to Alexander smiling radiantly. Being a SeeD, she finally got to dress casually, which she fully took advantage of. She wore a short red jacket with short sleeves over a white halter top as well as red jeans and white sneakers. As usual, she had her red fighting gloves on.  
  
"Hey Lucca. What's up?" Alexander had taken advantage of the opportunity to ear real clothes. All he wore though was just black cargo pants and a black long sleeve shirt.  
  
"We got our first assignment. We gotta meet at the front gate in half an hour." She looked at the Carbuncle next to Alexander. "Oh, how cute! You should have told me you had a Carbuncle as a GF."  
  
"I found him last night. He was hiding in my closet and jumped me before I could get any sleep."  
  
"Does he have a name?" Lucca was busy petting the little guy.  
  
"No, I just call him Carbie."  
  
"Well, we'd better head out to the main gate so we aren't late." Lucca began to walk out the cafeteria.  
  
"Let's go." Alexander and Carbie chased after her.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X---------------------  
  
A team of five stood before Squall and saluted him at the same time. Squall sighed, looked at one of the team members, and shook his head. Then, he began the briefing.  
  
"You all may die on this mission." Squall brought the briefing to a very cheery start. "I can guarantee that if any of you dies on this mission, it will be due to boredom. The 'Laguna Force' in Winhill is overloaded with creatures to fight off. This wouldn't be so bad except that most of the creatures are genetically imperfect and there is no data that is reliable enough t use against them. You are all being sent to the source of the problem. In fact, you are going to be finding their source, afterward they will destroy the source or sources and be able to handle the monsters themselves. You are to find the source only on request of your client. You are to be there in four days. Talk to your squad leader to review any missed details. Dismissed." Squall left and the new team was hauled off to the Balamb station in separate transports.  
  
Only fifteen minutes later, the team assembled in the SeeD cabin.  
  
"Sweet! This is awesome." The gunman whistled at great length and took in the sights as he walked into the center of the room. He looked fairly similar to Irvine, the brown hair and short ponytail, plus the old fashioned Stetson hat. He had dark brown eyes that matched his hair too. As for clothing, he had a white long sleeve shirt covered by a brown leather vest and blue jeans with old cowboy boots. Most who knew him thought that he could "shoot anything with a barrel". He favored using twin revolvers to the rifle most gunmen used, but he still had one strapped to his back in case he needed it.  
  
"Calm down." An authoritative voice commanded from behind him. A moody-looking girl walked into the cabin unexcited and immediately sat in a recliner, going back to the full recline position. This black-haired, green-eyed beauty was designated as the leader for this mission because of her apparent calm. She had curves in all the right places but failed to show them off with the bulky black cargo pants and black tee-shirt. Also, she really covered herself up on this warm day with a thick leather jacket. A rather large mace hung from her side, held by a loop in a bright red belt.  
  
A fragile-looking girl walked silently into the cabin and took a seat in a far corner, not bothering to say a single word. The brunette had a very cute face too, accented by deep blue eyes that were framed by thin black glasses.. She had her hair tied back in a loose ponytail, the tip  
  
hanging all the way to the small of her back. She wore a yellow tee-shirt and a thick pink vest in an effort to make her small breasts and thin body appear larger. She also wore light blue denim shorts that really showed off her long, magnificent legs.  
  
Lucca jumped into the cabin excitedly, excited to meet her new team, do her first mission, and, go on a train ride. To the others, she looked like she was almost on a sugar high. "All right let's do this. Wait!" She went out the door and returned shortly, dragging in Alexander by the wrist. Alexander now had a dark green vest on. As they sat down, Lucca immediately took charge of the situation. "We should all get to know each other so we can operate better in our missions together. I'm Lucca Dincht! Hi!" She smiled and waved quickly.  
  
"I'm Raymond Falner. Current student Top Gun. Just call me Ray." Ray grinned proudly. Top Gun was awarded to the top gunman in Garden, teachers couldn't compete for the title however.  
  
"Cecil Leonheart. I'm your commander." Cecil had no enthusiasm what-so-ever and didn't even smile.  
  
"Ah, so you're the Ice Princess of Balamb." Ray laughed and stopped cold as he got a most icy stare from Cecil.  
  
"I'm Serenity Striker. Offensive magic caster." Her voice was quiet, just as expected from the shy girl. She managed to smile weakly and she could only stare at the floor.  
  
Alexander glanced at her and became fixed on looking in that direction. He snapped out of his trance as Lucca elbowed him in the ribs.  
  
"SeeDs to Alex! You forgot to introduce yourself!" Lucca gave him another elbow.  
  
"Hey! Stop that!" Alexander held his side and began to introduce himself. "Alexander Saiko. Medical specialization. Uh... Howdy." He grinned and scratched the back of his head nervously. Cecil immediately walked out of the cabin without a word. Lucca ran after her and Ray began to get up, his stomach growling like a dog.  
  
"I should really try to eat breakfast. I'll be in the dining car if you need me. Later!" He ran off towards the front after tipping his hat to the two still left in the cabin.  
  
Alexander and Serenity sat in awkward silence for an uncomfortable five minutes until they spoke.  
  
"Hi." They each said timidly and simultaneously. After a second they said something else together. "Sorry!" Each stared at the floor and shared a quick laugh.  
  
-------------------------X--------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Cecil was crying in the back car alone. Lucca stepped up to her and knelt down next to her.  
  
"Are you okay, Cecil?" Lucca knew something was wrong but the phrase came out anyway.  
  
"None of your business." Cecil sobbed.  
  
"What's wrong? Some thing bad must have happened if you are letting loose the water works. You can tell me, we've been friends since we were born."  
  
"I was dumped. Happy now?" Cecil sobbed even more. "Joey was cheating on me with two older, big-breasted sluts visiting from Esthar. Then he dumped me before I could say a single thing about it. Hell, he was doing it in my room, no less. I was glad to get the new room."  
  
"I told you that frickin' prick couldn't be trusted. But you seemed so happy together."  
  
"He was the top student in the drama classes. I couldn't tell whether he was lying to me or not."  
  
"It's okay, you'll get the chance to flatten him eventually. Just pull yourself together and just think of way to torture that asshole when you get the chance."  
  
"Thanks, Lucca."  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Thanks to  
  
those who have already reviewed, keep them coming!  
  
I would like you, the reader, to voice your opinion of a few intereting ideas I have come up with. First, is a mision involving the T-board, which FF8 fans know to be the hoverboard Zell had taken away from him before his mission to Timber. Next is a neat situation a friend of mine brought up. What happens if two people summon the same GF? Also, the more I think about it, the more interesting the idea of a very special, never-before seen event would be. How does this sound?   
  
CHOCOBO JOUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Insert lame monster truck-style commercial here.)  
  
If you leave your opinion in the reviews section, please include a review.  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	8. Next Stop: Timber

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
-------------------X------------------------------------------------X-------------------------  
  
Chapter 8: Next Stop: Timber.  
  
Ray returned from the dining car relaxed and satisfied. Cecil and Lucca had returned only a minute before he had. With the entire team assembled, random conversation broke out among everyone except Alexander, who pretended to listen. He had his mind on other things. Nobody really noticed until Lucca decided to ask him a question.  
  
"Hey Alex, have you ever been to Timber before?" Lucca asked him out of the blue.  
  
"Yeah." Alexander had enough luck to nod and say this at the right time.  
  
"When did you go?"  
  
"I don't know." Another luckily placed phrase but Lucca already knew he wasn't paying attention.  
  
"Have you ever fantasized about doing it with a guy?" Of course she knew the truth, but this would reveal he wasn't paying attention.  
  
"Nah." His good luck was really getting him out of some tight spots, but Alexander really seemed tired and uninterested at this point.  
  
"Alex, what's wrong?" Lucca got no response from Alexander at which point she crept up on him and yelled in his ear. "Wake up!"  
  
He almost fell out of his seat, barely clutching on to the hand rest to keep his balance. "What'd I do?" he groaned as he rubbed his head slowly, trying to get the headache he just received to go away.  
  
"What's wrong, you seem to be drifting."  
  
"Just been thinking too much. I'm gonna go rest for a bit, I'm getting tired." Alexander went into the smaller section of the car where there were some beds set up for overnight trips.  
  
"It's ten in the morning. That's odd." Ray watched as the medic stumbled into the sleeping cabin. "I'll keep an eye on him." With that, Ray followed Alexander into the cabin.  
  
"I'm gonna follow Alexander's example." Cecil went towards the ladies sleeping cabin. "Rest comes rarely during some missions." Cecil disappeared into the cabin and left Serenity and Lucca alone.  
  
"Well, it's just you and me. Serenity, right?" Lucca plopped into a recliner boredly.  
  
"Yes." Serenity was distant sounding only because she was so shy. "Hey, Lucca?" She began to ask.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Um, nevermind."  
  
"You can ask me anything."  
  
"You really seem to know that guy well." Serenity instantly blushed and looked down to try and hide it.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The cute one, uh, Alex." She almost turned crimson and no amount of hiding could keep it from Lucca.  
  
"What about him?" Lucca was trying to restrain her laughter.  
  
"I just want to know..." Serenity didn't finish her sentence out of fear of turning any more red than she already had.  
  
"You want a date with him, don't you?" Lucca couldn't resist a quick laugh as Serenity became even brighter, if it were even possible.  
  
"No, I just want to know more about him."  
  
Lucca grinned. "I know him better than anyone else. Just ask away."  
  
"Are you two, uh, going out?" The red shade still remained in her face.  
  
"Him? Heck no." Lucca let out a bit of laughter she didn't expect was coming.  
  
"How long have you two known each other?"  
  
"About a week."  
  
Serenity hid her surprise fairly well. "He must be really reclusive."  
  
"Yeah. I'm about the only person that ever hangs out with him. He could use more friends. I know him better than I should because he's been in all of my classes for the past couple years. I'm surprised I really remember anything about him at all, he was really anti-social and almost transparent to others."  
  
"Why did you notice him when others didn't?"  
  
"I was looking at his backside a lot." Lucca laughed a bit and turned a bit red herself.  
  
"Oh, I see. This next question is a bit odd, but bear with me. Are the rumors about him true?" Serenity had lost the red color in her face and seemed pretty serious.  
  
"What rumors?"  
  
"That he was at the center of the FAE blast in Dollet?"  
  
"FAE?"  
  
"Fuel Air Explosion. A high power bomb."  
  
Lucca thought back to the Dollet test. The blinding flash of light, that girl, Alexander tied in knots. "Yes, he was. I saw the FAE blast."  
  
Serenity looked down and became gloomy. "Thanks."  
  
-------------------------X--------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
"Alex, you okay dude?" Ray sat next to Alexander, who had just popped a couple aspirin.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be okay." Alexander held a cold washcloth to his head.  
  
"You are one of the luckiest guys I have ever seen. You lasted more than twenty minutes without even paying attention to a single word they said."  
  
"That long, eh?"  
  
"What's been bothering you? Most people don't sleep at ten in the morning."  
  
"The mission." Alexander sighed heavily. "I don't have a single fighting skill."  
  
"That's it? Heck man, I'm more than enough for any monster." Ray boasted proudly. "We won't need more than a few days to find that source. Besides, we've got a few days 'till we get to Winhill. I can teach you how to use a pistol at the very least."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem. Can't have you dating a girl that can whip you around easily, now can we? Lucca will trample you."  
  
"I'm not dating her. We just met a week ago."  
  
Ray got a suspicious smirk on his face. "Not going out with her, you say? Well this can be interesting." The last sentence he said to himself.  
  
"What'd you say?"  
  
"Nothin'. How's that headache doing?" Ray kept his cool very easily.  
  
"Well enough." Alexander took off the cold rag he held to his head. "Thanks Ray."  
  
"No problem." Ray grinned.  
  
-----------------------X-----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
All five team members stood in the cabin talking to each other, waiting for the landing at Timber station. Alexander was a bit more sociable than before, actually paying attention to the conversation this time around. The intercom blared out a message stating that they were to arrive in about ten minutes. Immediately following this, a loud crash could be heard as the front cars derailed and took the rest of the train with it. The entire cabin tossed itself onto it's left side and the entire team fell to what used to be a wall. Irvine and a pile of girls lay on the ground, barely moving until Ray got up. Alexander was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Where's Alex?" Ray looked around the room to see an arm raised from the pile of girls. Alexander was almost completely covered in girls. Lucca and Cecil covered the top of the pile while Alexander and Serenity found themselves in a very uncomfortable position. Serenity was on top of him, her face in front of his, lips pressed together by Lucca's legs.  
  
Cecil managed to get up with Ray's help and Lucca got off shortly after to reveal the two "kissing". They immediately got off of each other. Both their faces were bright red with embarrassment as Lucca and Ray laughed at their situation.  
  
"Alex and Serenity, kissing in a tree," Cecil even got in on the joking, trying her hardest not to laugh.  
  
"Lucky dog." Ray nudged Alexander in the side, laughing the entire time.  
  
"Shut up. It wasn't as lucky as you think." Alexander was still flushed completely red. "I had Cecil's mace in my gut."  
  
"What happened?" Cecil asked suddenly. At that, a T-Rexaur bit off the "top" of the cabin, ripping a bit of he floor portion with it. Serenity panicked and hid behind a pile of furniture. Nobody really noticed as Cecil and Lucca charged the monster. All they could really do was beat around it's feet though. Ray immediately began firing with his twin pistols, blasting out both eyes using only one drum of six bullets. The other six went to the T-Rexaur's nose, shattering it's sense of smell. This did little but disable the monster's senses and enrage it. Alexander cast an odd spell he picked up from the ST-mag refinement skill, Zombie. Green bands of light surrounded the T-Rexaur and wrapped it in green bandages similar to a mummy. Each band exploded in a smoky green mist and turned the monster green. It whipped it's tail around and bashed it into the car, nearly tipping it over again. More bullets rushed from Ray's pistols to do little effect other than enrage the monster some more. Alexander cast one of the many life spells he had stocked up on his vitality status and cause enough damage to finish off the overgrown lizard.  
  
"No fighting skills, eh?" Ray laughed and showed off his trick gun skills, twirling both around on his fingers and finally holstering them smoothly.  
  
"Show off." Lucca laughed at Ray's dramatic display of showmanship.  
  
"Let's search for survivors and head for Timber, we should get there by six-thirty." Alexander immediately ran off towards other cars. Everyone followed suit except for Serenity, who could only stare at the fallen T-Rexaur. Even she did eventually take up the search and at six-twenty-seven, a group of survivors entered Timber. Rinoa, Zone, and Watts stood just outside of the Timber gates to welcome them.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Happy 10,000th word, that word is.... loud. (Anti-climactic, ain't it?)  
  
Special Thanks to all my fans (*looks around the room to see 4 people*) thank you. ( Insert FF8 victory music and me doing Zell's victory dance here.)  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Thanks to  
  
those who have already reviewed, keep them coming!  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	9. Time to Kill

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
-------------------X------------------------------------------------X-------------------------  
  
Chapter 9: Time to Kill.  
  
Alexander looked on as the group of passengers streamed into Timber, immediately rushing into the arms of their loved ones. Cecil even rushed into her mother's arms, all smiles as she bragged about the fight. Zone and Watts shared their hellos with Lucca, surprisingly without the stomach cramps. Ray practically dragged Serenity to the main commanders of the Forest Owls and introduced themselves. He kept his distance though, not wishing to disturb anything. But, as usual, Lucca managed to drag him into it.  
  
"Alex! Get over here!" Lucca ran over to him and pulled him by the wrist until he was right in front of Rinoa, Zone, and Watts. "This recluse," She said the word recluse teasingly, "Is Alex. Balamb Garden's first medical magic specialist."  
  
"Nice to meet you Alex. I heard quite a bit about you from Squall." Rinoa held out a hand with a smile.  
  
"Yeah, uh, nice to meet you too." Alexander shook her hand and returned a nervous grin.  
  
"Hey Mom, can we stay at your place for the night?" Cecil asked suddenly.  
  
"Of course, you're all welcome." Rinoa began walking towards her mansion in the southern part of Timber.  
  
Ray jumped up to Alexander halfway through Timber. He was grinning from ear to ear for reasons Alexander didn't know, he didn't really care at the moment either. "Hey Alex. Tomorrow I'll start teaching you how to use a handgun. You at least know how to pull a trigger, right?"  
  
"Of course. And I know which way to point the barrel." Alexander added, trying to eliminate any jokes Ray might use on him.  
  
"Okay, okay! How about stability, do you know the proper firing stance?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"All right, tomorrow morning during the stock-up time we'll hit a weapons shop and get you outfitted properly." Ray got sidetracked and stepped next to a fairly attractive lady watching the trains come in. Alexander left him to work his art, but Cecil grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away from his target. "No! Help! I'm being repressed!" Ray yelled as he was being dragged.  
  
About this time, the mansion came into view. It was larger than General Caraway's had been, towering over four stories and taking up two acres of land. It was done almost entirely of brick and had vines creeping along it's walls, creeping around windows and doors.  
  
"Holy shit!" Ray accidentally let his mouth go at the sight of the mansion.  
  
Rinoa laughed for a second and spread her arms as if to grasp the entire building. "Welcome to your home away from home. We know Ray likes it, how about the rest of you?"  
  
"Ray pretty much spoke for the entire group." Lucca shoved Ray to snap him out of his trance.  
  
"Watts will show you to your rooms and give you a tour of the place. That is, if he doesn't mind." Rinoa looked over to Watts.  
  
"Of course ma'am!" Watts nodded and herded the team into the mansion's front doors."  
  
The inside of the building was just as extravagant as the outside. All the fancy, useless, overly-expensive stuff you could think of existed in this house. Watts gave the grand tour of the entire place, kitchen, living room, lounge, game room, weapons room. Alexander couldn't remember half the places he went to. Watts finally got them to their rooms and gave them free reign to explore the house themselves. While the others went to check out the house, Alexander crashed onto his bed tiredly. Before he knew it, Ray was waking him up for dinner. Alexander got up and followed Ray to the dining room, fearing they would get lost.  
  
The team sat around the table, their plates covered in foods he didn't even know of.  
  
"Don't worry about the food. It's not hot dogs and pizza but it tastes better than it looks." Ray sat down and began shoving food down his throat.  
  
Alexander sat down and reluctantly took a bite of the main course. He thought it tasted a bit odd so decided to figure out what everything was. "What is this stuff?"  
  
"The main course is flagra in a creamy truffle sauce. The two sides are..." Rinoa tried to explain the menu to him, falling on confused ears.  
  
"Wait, flagra?" His mind recalled and episode of some cooking show and two words: Duck Liver. "Duck liver?" He cringed in fear of the liver. He never really did like the liver and onions they served at garden every once in a while. Dispite this, he did eat the entire course and was eventually able to find his way back to his room.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X---------------------  
  
He awoke to the sound of thunder from outside. Walking out into the hall, he could get a decent view of the dark, midnight sky. Rain pounded the streets in their torrential downpour and nobody seemed to be outside. Streaks of lightning could be seen in the distance, the roar of thunder coming anywhere from three to five seconds away.  
  
"Fifteen to twenty-five miles away. That's pretty close." He said to himself. he felt surprisingly happy with the falling rain colliding with the roadways and houses, soaking them thoroughly. Neon signs reflected off the wet pavement, their reflections disturbed by the constantly falling rain. Another blast of distant thunder and he heard a quick yell behind him. As he turned, Serenity cringed in fear, holding her hands over her ears in effort to keep out the noise.  
  
"Serenity? What's wrong?" Alexander was by her side in an instant, holding her by the shoulders and moving her slowly to a bench in the wide hall.  
  
"I'm s-scared." Another blast and she ducked into Alexander's arms with another small scream. "I h-hate thunder."  
  
"It's okay. The storm is miles away. You won't be hurt."  
  
Another blast brought up another small cry and she buried her face in his chest, clutching around him for protection. "H-Help me." Her voice was weaker than usual. Alexander thought back to the fight with the T-Rexaur, Serenity had ran to hide behind some tossed furniture. She couldn't have became a SeeD like this. He guessed something really bad had happened in the past. "Twelve years ago..." She began to talk as if she had read his mind. "I should have died. It was thundery and raining like this." Another bolt made her cringe and stuff herself farther into Alexander. "My family was smashed by a T-Rexaur." She began to cry, shaking slightly against him.  
  
"It's okay, calm down. You'll be okay." Another crash of thunder, another painful squeeze around the torso.  
  
She began to talk in between sobs. "Everyone was dead... Blood on the walls... Those mean eyes... I was stepped on... I should have been dead...Little kid... He distracted it... After that... After that..." She tried not to say it, as if it were the most horrible thing of the entire experience. "A-A flash... and everything, everything... was okay..."  
  
Alexander stared wide-eyed out the window. The story seemed so familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. She held him tighter, pressing him into the backrest of the bench. He held her too, slowly running his hand up and down her back. The storm seemed to be fading, moving away from Timber and off towards the mountains of the west. The grip she held on him became lighter and her crying had stopped. She had fallen asleep crying and her arms fell to he sides. Her face was wet from her tears as well as the spot on his shirt where she had cried. Still she looked peaceful in her sleep so he gently picked her up and carried her into her room. As he set her down, he covered her with the bed sheets and moved her hair out of her face. Closing the door behind him silently, he snuck back into his room and immediately fell into a deep sleep. Again, he was plagued by nightmares of death and blood, yet he stayed asleep, too tired to be scared.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
"The trains aren't running today. We're extremely sorry for the inconvenience." The ticket seller told them as the team tried to buy some tickets to Winhill. "The monster attack alerts are on the high warning level. We can't do anything but just wait it out."  
  
"Damn!" Cecil kicked the ticket booth in frustration. "We're going to have to delay our schedule. We'll use today to get prepared."  
  
"Bummer. I wanted to take a train ride!" Lucca kicked the ticket booth too.  
  
"This sucks." Ray added in his kick to the booth and began to walk away.  
  
"Please stop kicking the booth." The ticket seller pleaded weakly.  
  
Lucca gave it one more kick and the entire team left the station. "Let's get those provisions taken care of." She mentioned out of the blue.  
  
"Right. Alexander and I will take care of weapons. The rest of you take care of the items." Cecil quickly decided the groups and began to walk towards the nearby weapons shop.  
  
"Wait! I'm coming with you guys." Ray ran after Alexander.  
  
"Why?" Cecil shot him an icy stare.  
  
"I gotta teach him how to use a gun. I'm going to have to get him the right one." Ray finally caught up.  
  
"Fine."  
  
The weapons shop wasn't far away and Cecil just barged in like she owned the place. The walls were lined in old weaponry and racks of different items lined the entire store. A rather large man came from behind the counter and greeted Cecil warmly.  
  
"Cecil, glad to see you here. I have that new weapon you've been looking for. And who are these two?" He beamed proudly at the selection of weapons Ray and Alexander were staring at.  
  
"Hello Andrew. The Irvine look-alike is Ray, my team's gunman. The scrawny one is Alexander. He has a current preference for handguns thanks to Ray." Cecil seemed like she was blaming Ray for something.  
  
"Ah, well, I have the newest technology for rifles. As for handguns, I got some goodies. Anything else?" He walked to the back of the room slowly, making sure others weren't around.  
  
"Something for Lucca and a magic caster type." Cecil added before a secret door was opened behind a rack of spears with rather large heads. She motioned the guys in and the door closed behind them. Inside was a dark room filled to the brim with unsorted weapons and such.  
  
"These are the latest imports from a weapons development lab in Esthar." Andrew began digging through items, as did everyone else.  
  
Ray held a matching pair of huge revolvers, both were stainless steel with the appearance of a clip-feed handgun. They held nine-shot drums of bullets however and were pretty heavy for handguns. "Nice," Ray whistled to himself, ".55 Caliber Revolvers with nine shot drums and internal hammers. Sweet!"  
  
Cecil found what she was looking for, a large box with the symbol of Griever imprinted on the lid. "Got it. This will come in handy."  
  
Andrew got up with a light groan and held a pair of odd gloves. "These will work for your mage type. They're channeling gloves. They come with an instruction manual."  
  
Alexander fumbled around with several handguns, a pile of them sat next to him. Ray was trying his hardest to find him a handgun as well. He pondered over about ten handguns and considered them all trash. Alexander had found something of interest to him though. A stainless steel handgun rested in his hands. It had a custom hand molded grip, a light weight design, and an eighteen shot clip of eight millimeter bullets. To aid in aiming, it had a small, built in laser sight directly under the barrel that activated when pressure was applied to the grip.  
  
"That's a nice one." Ray commented. "It would be perfect if it weren't left-handed."  
  
"I'm ambidextrous." Alexander grinned. "It will work fine."  
  
Andrew tossed a large metal bracer to Alexander. "Try that on your right hand. It's a decent claw class weapon with blades on the backside." Alexander noticed the blades extended backwards on the bracer. They would extend well over two feet past his hand when set in attack mode. When he tried it on, it just seemed to feel right. A few swings later, he was convinced the weapon would work for him. Ray had picked out a new scope and the three were set to go.  
  
At the ring up counter, Andrew whistled at the price of all the items they had gotten. "Twenty-five thousand even."  
  
"Ouch!" Ray cringed at the price. He barely had that much in his saving place.  
  
Cecil gave him exact change as if it were nothing. "A bit cheap. You having a sale or something?"  
  
"SeeD discount." Andrew smiled. "And your mother is my superior."  
  
"Great. We'll see-you later."  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
After Alexander had spent some time at a firing range with his new gun and had practiced with his new blades, he went out for a relaxing stroll. Lucca ran straight into Alexander when both turned a corner. She hit the ground hard while Alexander managed to keep his feet under him. After getting her off the ground she began excitedly talking.  
  
"Hey Alex! Come with me." She grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him towards a large building.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
If you've noticed I have been posting rather frequently, it's because in a month I have to start going back to school and I'll most likely be overloaded with homework. Although the story will be far from complete, I will try my best to get in a good portion before September and i'll try to post every other weekend during the school year. Hopefully, I can post more frequently.  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Thanks to  
  
those who have already reviewed, keep them coming!  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	10. Too Far, Irvine!

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
-------------------X------------------------------------------------X-------------------------  
  
Chapter 10: Too far, Irvine!  
  
Alexander found himself in front of a large auditorium, the Timber Theater. A white masonry building, it looked out of place against the gentle blues and greens of most Timber buildings. Before he could do anything, Lucca dragged him through the front door and only stopped as the receptionist stepped in their path.  
  
"Hello, and welcome to todays noon showing of 'The Damsel and the Knight'. You two are the lucky couple who get to take part in todays pre-show improv act. Congratulations!" He announced before they got through the lobby.  
  
"Well, I'd-" Alexander protested but was promptly interrupted by Lucca.  
  
"We'd love to!" Lucca knew fully well that Alexander didn't want to. The grin on her face was half amusement, and half pure evil.  
  
"Great! Follow me then." The man showed them around the lobby to the backstage area. Unknown to them, the rest of the team had shown up to enjoy the play, they had even gotten front row seats.  
  
"What kind of act are we doing?" Lucca still beamed proudly.  
  
"An improvised version of the very play you will be seeing later." The receptionist added, "If you know the script, try to deviate as not to ruin the particular scene you will be doing."  
  
"Right."  
  
"Here are your dressing rooms. You ma'am are to play Lady Rinoa. And you sir, are playing the brave Sir Squall. You have fifteen minutes, miss?"  
  
"Lucca Dincht, he's Alexander Saiko."  
  
"Enjoy the act." The receptionist left them to their dressing rooms.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Ray sat in the front row with a bucket o' popcorn and sat in between Serenity and Cecil. "I heard they let audience members do a scene of the play beforehand." He munched down a handful of popcorn.  
  
"Right. They always choose a couple on a date." Cecil added before the lights dimmed.  
  
"The Timber Theater will begin it's presentation of 'The Knight and the Damsel' shortly." The announcer said over the surround sound speaker system. "For now, enjoy this improvised scene performed by audience members." With that the curtains rose to reveal a tower it a forest scenery. Lucca was in the tall tower, dressed in a long blue dress, obviously the Damsel. A knight that looked similar to Seifer was at the bottom, guarding the door.  
  
"Oh! Will I ever be freed of this prison?" Lucca was over-dramatic, perfect for the sort of act they were in.  
  
"Not until you are my wife!" Seifer, played by some other guy, laughed crazily.  
  
"When ever will a knight come to rescue me?" Nobody appeared from the left side of the stage. "I said: When will a knight come to rescue me?!"  
  
Alexander found himself sitting just left of the stage. A quick peek at the audience and he knew Ray was there. The Stetson was a dead give-away. Unknown to him, the receptionist had snuck behind him. A quick boot later, he was out on the stage. He had his back turned to the audience and had to walk awkwardly to prevent being turned towards the crowd. Although he had a wig on, he didn't want to risk being seen.  
  
"Finally, at long last, a brave knight has received my cries of distress." Lucca clamped her hands together in fake adoration.  
  
"Knight? Where?" Alexander tried to disguise his voice.  
  
"You of course, my silly sir knight."  
  
"Sorry, but I'll have to get back to you. You see, I'm already late for a date with another princess, see-ya!"  
  
"Foolish jester! I challenge you!" Fake Seifer called to him.  
  
"Whatever." The fake Squall began to walk off stage.  
  
"Imp army! Attack him!" Seifer let loose a whole barrage of mechanical Imps.  
  
Squall yelled frantically and tried to find a weapon, dispite having a gunblade on his belt. "Demon midgets!" Alexander ripped a branch off of a paper-mache tree and began waving it around frantically. Surprisingly enough, all the imps went down quickly to the chaotic "branch"-manship.  
  
"Blast you. You have defeated the mighty Imp army. With a freaking stick, no less. On guard!" Seifer rushed in to attack Sir Squall, who had still managed to keep his back to the crowd.  
  
The two began to fight, Seifer unable to close in because of the branch's length. As soon as it started though, the branch was up in the air and halfway across the stage. "Squall" managed to draw his sword and parry a follow-up slash. They began a sword fight, Alexander did well enough thanks to the other guy going soft on him. Again he was knocked away from his sword and fell over next to the branch he had used earlier. Seifer went in for the final blow. Rinoa almost fainted as the blow was blocked by the stick from earlier.  
  
"Why won't you perish!" Seifer growled at him.  
  
"Sir knight! Only true love can defeat him." Rinoa called from the tower.  
  
"Wait!" Squall shoved back Seifer and turned towards Lucca. "What the heck do you mean?" Seifer snuck behind Alexander and prepared for a final blow. "I don't think a dose of the mushy stuff is lethal." He threw back his hands and the stick collided with Seifers face, knocking him to the ground. "Really, you can't expect some guy who probably has a basement full of dirty magazines to go down just because of a kiss, can you?" He tossed the stick behind him and accidentally pounded Seifer in the face again as he was getting up.  
  
"Sir knight, you've done it!" Lucca ran down the steps and rushed right next to Alexander, sliding uncomfortably close to him. "What is your name, Sir knight?"  
  
"None of your business..." He began to walk away, still successful in hiding his face.  
  
"But Sir, I must now the name of my true love."  
  
"Whatever..." He repeated the immortal words of the real Squall.  
  
"I'll get you someday, mark my words, Sir Squall." After that little outburst, Seifer ran off stage.  
  
"Oh Sir Squall, come so I may reward you with a kiss." Lucca moved right up to Alexander's face.  
  
"Whatever..." Again Squall tried to run away.  
  
"I'll bet you're gay!"  
  
"I am so not gay!"  
  
"Prove it." Lucca walked straight up to Alexander and planted a firm, lingering kiss on his lips. Her hands instantly went for a double handful of his backside.  
  
Alexander jumped free with a short yell. "What the?"  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"You grabbed my butt!"  
  
"So?"  
  
"What if I went over and copped a feel on your chest?"  
  
"I'd ask for more." Lucca put on her most seductive smile. "Do you want to?"  
  
Alexander picked up the stick from before and bashed himself in the head with it so he could fake passing out. Afterwards, the curtains closed and the actors were led out for the final bow.  
  
"Give your applause for today's volunteer actors, Miss Lucca Dincht and Mister Alexander Saiko. And also give a round of applause for Hugh G. Mockery, our house actor playing Sir Seifer." The announcer then went on to announce the beginning of the play.  
  
Backstage, Lucca and Alexander had gotten out of their costumes and were free to go enjoy the actual play from the special balcony seats.  
  
"You liked it, didn't you?" Lucca prodded him with a elbow.  
  
"Not at all." He shook his head and knew he was as good as dead.  
  
"Oh come on, you liked it. Admit it."  
  
"Yeah, I liked getting off stage."  
  
"You're no fun." Lucca faked pouting and laughed afterward, right when they nearly bumped into Irvine.  
  
"Howdy, Alex, old buddy, old pal." Irvine had a smile across his face and it was all because of a video reorder on his shoulder. With speed normally not seen from him, he ripped the tape out of the recorder and smashed it into tiny bits. "Oh and Alex, it was already broadcast to Garden. Everybody saw the entire thing."  
  
"Too far Irvine, too far."  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
I'm not gonna make excuses for my sudden absence of updates; I was abducted by aliens...  
  
...Ok, fine, I'll admit it, I'M LAZY. I'm the reason they invented the Lay-Z-Boy. Sorry. :(  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Thanks to  
  
those who have already reviewed, keep them coming!  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	11. Hard Luck

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
-------------------X------------------------------------------------X-------------------------  
  
Chapter 11: Hard Luck.  
  
Ray caught Alexander on his way to the Leonheart Mansion's training center. Alexander was beyond pissed and wanted nothing to do with anyone for the moment. As usual, somebody couldn't leave him alone.  
  
"Hey Alex! What's up?" Ray wore an unknowing frown. "What the heck is wrong with you?"  
  
"I need some space, just leave me be." Alexander growled from under his breath.  
  
"You can talk to me, man. What's up?"  
  
"You saw what happened. The act."  
  
"That was you? That sucks. I feel sorry for you, man." Ray finally realized that was Alexander on stage. He had gone to the restroom when they took the final bows and announced Alexander's name.  
  
"You don't quite know how bad it is. Irvine recorded the whole thing for a direct broadcast into Garden."  
  
Ray's face lost all color and turned into absolute shock. "Shit! What'd you ever do to him?"  
  
"I 'spoiled' all his non-existent chances with the ladies for a long while. Remember the SeeD party?" Alexander had a hint of a grin.  
  
"That was you? Nice. But he took that way too far."  
  
"I need to settle the score. If he's gonna use television to humiliate me, I'll go even farther."  
  
"The net, right?"  
  
"Yes." Alexander had an evil grin on his face, an expression never before worn on him. "You wouldn't mind helping me with my marksmanship, would you?"  
  
"Let's go." Ray led Alexander to the training center as the girls went straight into the mansion. Cecil and Lucca were talking excitedly, but Serenity was completely silent.  
  
"I can't believe you doubled up on that guy's butt, Lucca!" Cecil laughed joyfully, dropping her usual tough-girl guise.  
  
"He had a nice butt, what should I have done?" Lucca shrugged her shoulders dramatically.  
  
"You are right, that flank did look pretty damn good."  
  
"Guess what else happened?" Lucca laughed excitedly.  
  
"That guy asked you out on a date afterwards?"  
  
"Nope, it was recorded and broadcast to Garden!" Lucca jumped for joy and even Cecil felt a bit like jumping. Serenity stopped walking as her eyes went wide and she gasped suddenly.  
  
"Hurry up! Dinner's gonna be done soon." Cecil called back towards Serenity, oblivious to the shock she just received. The two went on ahead while Serenity stood in shock. A full clip of bullets blasting targets could be heard faintly in the distance.  
  
------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X--------------------  
  
"One thousand, five hundred gil please." The ticket seller for the train looked at them with a bit of scorn from yesterday's events. Cecil quickly paid him and the group entered the SeeD cabin. It was a twelve hour ride to Winhill so everybody went off to do their thing, all returning about an hour later for a quick nap. All except for Alexander, he stayed awake, looking out the window of the train.  
  
Ray woke up to the prodding barrel of an automatic rifle, nudging him in the head. The man carrying it was a soldier in black, with a mask over his face to hide his identity.  
  
"AR-102c autorifle, 102 rounds per minute if I'm not mistaken. Very nice rifle. Top of the line." Ray slowly got up and raised his hands above his head. The soldier immediately bound Ray's hands, giving him time to notice the girls in a corner, bound by their hands and legs. He found himself shoved to the floor in a heap next to the girls, his face itching from carpet burn. On the other side of the room, all their weapons lay in a heap, including Cecil's black box. "Where's Alex?"  
  
Lucca pointed with her head in the direction of the hall. "He was attacked in the hall, he's in bad shape." Ray could barely see Alexander, but did notice a gash in his forehead. He was so beat up, the soldier didn't bother to bind him.  
  
"This... sucks..." A weak voice came from nowhere in general.  
  
"Alex?" Serenity looked towards him, seeing no movement on his part.  
  
"Shut your mouths or I'll gag them." The soldier shot the group a deadly stare. He walked to each and picked them up one by one, hanging them on a coat hangar by their wrist ties. Each was facing the wall except for Serenity, she was dragged to the opposite wall. "There are quite a few hours left, I'll have to entertain myself for at least a little while." He laughed satanically and ran his tongue across her face.  
  
"Please, don't..." Serenity cringed in fear of what the freak was about to do. What she thought was coming never came. She opened her eyes to the sound of a large crash and a painful scream. Loud snaps came from the soldiers back, caused by a left uppercut from a very bloody, and pissed, Alexander. A few more rips cracked as his right knee collided with the soldiers spine, compressing the terrorist's body into the wall. As the man began to collapse, Alexander sent his left foot into the side of the mans head, sending it straight into a potted plant, along with the rest of the body. Serenity noticed two things the others didn't, the first of which were his glowing blue eyes, the blue of the sky covered even the white and black areas of the eye. The second of which was a pendant, a single feather encased in sapphire. It too was glowing bright blue.  
  
"Serenity! Are you okay?" Alexander quickly untied her and went straight for the others. The blue glow had faded away, she thought it was only an odd trick played on her by her eyes. As he freed the team she could only watch in shock as the battered man continued to work as if nothing odd had happened.  
  
"Shit Alex! The guy is bleeding worse than you were." Ray gawked at the freshly tossed terrorist, he was bleeding from at least five gashes on his head and had a bush on his face. Ray got out of his trance and tied the man to a bedpost in case he woke up.  
  
"Speaking of blood, clean yourself up Alex." Lucca shivered at the sight of blood slowly sliding down his face.  
  
"Let's get this train back first. Me and Lucca will take the back three cars. Ray and Serenity will take the front two and the engine. Alex, stay here and clean yourself up." Cecil quickly regained her confidence and delivered her orders. Each member got his or her weapons and immediately went off to their duty.  
  
Alexander had cleaned himself up and sat in a chair near the still downed soldier, all he could do was read a weapons monthly. Suddenly Ray ran through the door.  
  
"Alex! We got a problem! Hurry up." Ray darted back towards the front of the train, followed closely by Alexander.  
  
"We got a major problem, we can't stop the train." Lucca looked confused over a set of levers.  
  
"You just pull the red one." Alexander said bluntly.  
  
"Not that easy, they rigged up a bomb to the brake." Ray added helplessly.  
  
"Go back and get the others, maybe they will know what to do." Alexander sent them off to the cars to find the rest of the team. He ripped off the housing box for the levers and gazed at the two wires strapped to the brake levers trigger mechanism. All the levers were operated by pneumatics though. He couldn't just disconnect the cars either, there was a timer set to blow as soon as they reached Winhill. Dispite this, he pulled the lever to disconnect all the cars from the main engine, just in time for the rest of the team to show up at the last car and find themselves completely useless as the cars activated their auto breaks.  
  
"Idiot!" Ray called after him.  
  
"I got it! Don't worry." He replied more to himself than his teammate. Working quickly, he switched the pneumatic wiring from the break to the next lever over, hopefully allowing the train to stop without blowing up into tiny bits. Winhill was in sight and only a few minutes away. When he pulled on the lever the train began screeching to a halt, without the C4 bomb blasting the whole thing into bits. Alexander lept over the side railing and ran as far away as he could, sprinting for a full minute before the bomb blew. A brilliant display of bright yellow and orange erupted from the engine as the train fragmented, splashing the ground in scorched metal and leaving a crater in the track.  
  
Ray was the first to get to Alexander, sprinting around fallen metal with ease. Only a few paces behind was Serenity. "Alex, dude," Ray shook his head as the others showed up. "You forgot to time yourself so you would have to jump as the train exploded so you can get the dramatic movie effect." Both guys laughed loudly and Serenity joined in with her soft laughter. Lucca couldn't help but grin and let out a few laughs of her own.  
  
"What the hell!" Cecil had flames bursting out of her eyes. Her face had turned as red as the flames from the train. "next time you do some bonehead move like that, I'm gonna take off your head!" She barked at Alexander. "And don't be giving him any ideas either, Ray!"  
  
"It's not like you would have done anything better." Serenity added, her shy voice didn't carry much weight though.  
  
"From now on, as punishment, you will spend a half hour everyday, starting today, studying bomb disposal so long as you are in my unit."  
  
"Good idea." Alexander said bluntly. Cecil nearly fell over in shock. "But let's take care of those passengers."  
  
"Yeah, right." Ray added. "I'm beginning to think we shouldn't take trains."  
  
"Hey!" Lucca protested loudly.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Back on track, baby! I'm unstoppable. Unless someone lures me away from the computer with a hot dog... Anyway, I'm newly motivated and ready to wear out my keyboard.  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Thanks to those who have already reviewed, keep them coming!  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	12. Winhill At Last

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Rayn"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
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Chapter 12: Winhill at last.  
  
Winhill stretched before the team, the village looking much newer than it should be. Although there were many more buildings than in the past, it was still a small town with great people and free parking. This was the second time the team had entered a town on foot due to attacks on trains. This was bad luck, and Ray chose the wrong time to be pessimistic.  
  
"Maybe we should stop taking the trains." Ray contemplated this out loud, dispite saying it only to himself. Lucca stared wide-eyed at Ray, unbelieving that he would think such a thing.  
  
Alexander caught on to Lucca's expression and joined in on the deliberation. "We could drive from place to place."  
  
"Renting a car would get expensive with fuel and all." Cecil added bluntly. Lucca smiled proudly as Cecil talked.  
  
"The Rangarok carrier service." Ray yawned tiredly, it was nearly ten o clock at night. "We could call them up and get a ride. It's slightly more but we do get there faster. We'll also get to fly, it's gotta be awesome up there."  
  
"We're taking the trains and that's final!" Lucca glared at the two guys with fire in her eyes bright enough to light up the town.  
  
"Trains are nice!" Ray and Alexander backed away from Lucca as if they were one person.  
  
"Stop that. We're at the inn. We'll get some rooms and rest up for tomorrow." Cecil said this with very little conviction, as if she didn't mind the two getting the living daylights beat out of them. Alexander looked behind him before following the others into the inn. A sudden wave of cold energy swept over him, he felt sick to his stomach. A quick shiver and he went after his team.  
  
"Sorry, we don't have any rooms left." The lady behind the reception desk apologized with a bow.  
  
Ray leaned on the desk and gave her his best smile. "Are you sure nothing is open, miss? We truly do need a room for the night. Can't you accommodate us?" A quick wink and the tip of his hat made the young woman blush.  
  
"Well, I can get you into a four bed room. But it won't be enough to suit you all." She glanced down at her shoes, finding them to be suddenly interesting.  
  
"Don't worry 'bout it. I'll sleep outside, it'll be like a camping trip." Alexander began to walk away, stopping only to throw in a grin and a thumbs up from behind his shoulder before walking towards the door again.  
  
"Alex!" Lucca grabbed him by the shoulder. "You don't have to do that."  
  
"It's no problem, I'll be back at dawn." He lifted her hand off his shoulder and walked out the door. When she followed, he had completely disappeared.  
  
"Idiot!" Lucca folded her arms across her chest. "He could have slept on the couch."  
  
"C'mon Lucca. Let's get some rest." Cecil said as she walked by the reception desk. Ray was still playing ladies man so she grabbed him by the collar and dragged him up the stairs.  
  
"Not again, why must you be so cruel." Ray sighed as he was pulled away from the lady behind the desk.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
A small tent was pitched on the top of the hill known only as "Chocobo's Hill". Sticking out of the tan prism was a fan of yellow chocobo feathers. Alexander woke up to see a bird head prodding him with it's beak. Unalarmed for some reason, he glanced out the tent and noticed it was way past dawn. After he packed up the tent, there was only the Chocobo to deal with.  
  
"What were you doing in my tent?" He asked, knowing the Chocobo couldn't understand a single word he said.  
  
"Wark?" The yellow bird tilted its head to the side and stared at Alexander.  
  
"Well, since you're here, I'm gonna use you as a quick ride to Winhill. You okay with that?"  
  
"Wark." The Chocobo turned around as if it did understand.  
  
A quick jump onto the back of the bird and Alexander was off towards the inn in style.  
  
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Cecil and Serenity woke to the piercing scream of Lucca and the sound of a object colliding with the floor. As they gained their wits the found Ray on the floor in a heap and Lucca backed up against the wall, clutching her blanket around her chest.  
  
"You stinking pervert!" She accused Ray.  
  
"What happened?" Cecil had a good idea already but asked anyway.  
  
"He was, looking, at me!" She blushed a little as she said "looking".  
  
"Pervert."  
  
"I... Just... Tried-" Ray was cut short by Cecil's foot stepping on his back.  
  
"Save your excuses." Cecil waved her fist and might as well had burning coals for eyes.  
  
"Cecil?" Serenity blushed and looked away slightly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're not, uh, decent." Serenity smiled insecurely. Cecil was stomping on Ray wearing only her black lace bra and panties.  
  
Cecil looked at herself and turned red, in embarrassment rather than anger for once. "Get out!" She yelled at Ray and threw him out the door and into the hall. He collided into the wall face first, moaning in pain. He slowly but surely slumped to the floor after the door slammed behind him.  
  
"Why me?" Ray asked between moans of pain.  
  
------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X--------------------  
  
Alexander arrived at the inn at about nine in the morning, only Ray stood outside the building to greet him. The left half of his face was bandaged and his right eye was black.  
  
Alexander laughed from on top of the Chocobo. "Ray?"  
  
"Never wake up Lucca." Ray shook his head sadly.  
  
"What? What happened to you, dude?"  
  
"I tried to wake up Lucca. She was in her underwear. I didn't think that she would sleep in her knickers with me around. As soon as she saw me, I became branded as a pervert."  
  
"Will you be able to have kids still?" Alexander laughed at his own dumb question.  
  
"They didn't go there."  
  
"They?"  
  
"Cecil too. She was sleeping in her underwear too."  
  
"Could have been worse." Alexander shrugged.  
  
"Chocobo!" Lucca called from the inn doorway. She ran straight past Ray and wrapped her arms around the Chocobo.  
  
"You don't even have a lure. Interesting." Cecil had been a bit more calm than Lucca.  
  
Ray was backing away from the two in fear. Alexander decided to try to clear things up. "He was only trying to wake you, ya know?" The two girls looked at him with a mix of both shock and hate.  
  
"He was peeking at me!" Lucca protested.  
  
"Well, you do realize he is a guy. And you two did think it was a good idea to sleep in your underwear. Think, Ray plus girls in underwear equals..."  
  
"Good point." Lucca took on a shade of red.  
  
"Aw, how cute," Serenity had come up to the chocobo during the talk about underwear. She was gawking at the chocobo in absolute awe. Her hair was still wet from the shower she had just taken so she had it loose so it would dry quicker. "You look just like a Chocobo Knight!"  
  
"Uh, thanks?" The last part o that sentence made him think about who was the "cute" one. He got off of the chocobo and found himself face-to-face with a familiar man.  
  
"You all must be the SeeDs." An old Laguna in his mid-forties grinned.  
  
"Laguna!" Cecil was caught off guard for once.  
  
"Hey Cecil." Laguna laughed for a second before getting grim. "We gotta get right to business."  
  
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From this point on, the story will not be all happy go lucky. Just a heads up if you were reading this only for the comedy. Or if you hated every joke in this....  
  
Please pay special attention to the message below............  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Thanks to those who have already reviewed, keep them coming!  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Rayn" 


	13. Beta

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Aqua Azuresky" (formerly Rayn)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
-------------------X------------------------------------------------X-------------------------  
  
Chapter 13: Beta.  
  
"I'm sure you've already had a full mission briefing, but I'll go over the details in case you forgot." Laguna said grimly. "As you know, our monster elimination squad has been working overtime to remove the threat of genetically created monsters that seem to be coming from nowhere. Judging from the attacks, they seem to be coming out of a canyon ten to fifteen miles out east. We would take care of it ourselves, but we can't let up on our defenses. That's where you come in, you will find the location of these creatures and eliminate them by any means necessary. A pen is pretty much useless here." Laguna referred to the old saying, "The pen is mightier than the sword."  
  
"Provisions?" Cecil simply asked.  
  
"Fifty bricks of explosives, an armored van, and an escort cycle." Laguna said. "Do you have an explosives expert?"  
  
"Not an expert but he'll do." Cecil pointed to Alexander.  
  
"Okay, let's do it." Laguna led them off towards the Laguna Force head quarters.  
  
Alexander stood there in thought. "Wait! I don't know how to use explosives! I only studied how to disarm them!"  
  
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A large steel door opened slowly to reveal an armored transport van and a one-man combat cycle. The van was standard but the bike was something else entirely. A black fiberglass body covered the long, low to the ground cycle with style. Two forward mounted auto rifles were set in the front of the body. Two lances hung just below the rider's legs for a drive by attack. The rider was suited in a tight black leather bodysuit and a full face helmet with a mirrored visor. The rider was a buxom female, but that was all that was evident.  
  
The engines of both vehicles started simultaneously, the armored van's larger engine drowning out the sound of the bike's. The cycle sped in front of the van almost immediately and kept ahead by a hundred feet or so. In only a few minutes, Winhill was behind them and sand stretched ahead of them and into the distant horizon.  
  
"Dunes, dunes, and look, more dunes." Ray yawned loudly, "When are we gonna get there?"  
  
"We got ten minutes." Lucca said, driving the van confidently.  
  
Serenity brought up a question. "How did a canyon get way out here?" Serenity brought up a question.  
  
"The canyon isn't natural." Lucca began. "They say an old research lab used to be where the canyon is. It focused on genetic research. One day twelve years ago, some deaths started popping up. Esthar garden was new and naive in those day so they sent a team there to figure out what happened. Not one of the soldiers came out, so they blasted the place sky high. Some of it was underground so it left a canyon after it went. I'm sure Laguna suspects a portion survived and some experiments managed to stay alive."  
  
"Do you know the lab's name?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Hey Alex." Ray nudged Alexander and whispered, "Cecil's pretty hot in that leather suit, don't you think?"  
  
Alexander laughed loudly. "You got me there." He said loudly enough so Lucca and Serenity could hear. "But I'm sure you thought she was hotter in her panties."  
  
"Can't we just forget about that?" Lucca growled at both guys from the rear view mirror. They sat in awkward silence for a while until the canyon opened up before them. "Get ready boys."  
  
"Right!" Ray and Alexander went to the side walls of the van and hit a large red button on each side. A large console appeared from inside the wall and a joystick for each came out shortly after. On top of the van, two gatling guns rose up and locked into position. As they heard the click that signaled the guns were ready, a battalion of large snakes and a giant serpent slithered out from the canyon. Each snake had sandy colored scales with odd swirls of green. Their roars were those of dragons, coming from vertical mouths lined with fangs that jutted forward. An eye was placed on each side of the mouth and the body fattened towards the tail instead of tapering.  
  
"What are they?" Cecil's voice was scratchy over the radio.  
  
"Just kill them. They're genetic experiments." Alexander said, releasing a short stream of bullets that pierced the skull of and killed one of the smaller snakes.  
  
"Just open fire." Serenity called over the radio com set.  
  
"Affirmative." Cecil's transmission was ended with the firing of machine guns. All guns started blazing and snakes went down, one after another. Whenever one went down, two seemed to crawl over it's carcass to take it's place. When about ninety-five percent of the small guys died, Cecil ran out of ammo and stated using the lances to devastating effect on the rest. In about a half hour, all but the big guy were dead. The van broke into a chatter of gunfire as the turrets focused on the big serpent. Shells littered the ground as bullets bounced off the massive scales of the five-hundred foot long snake. It charged towards the van first, diving into the spot the van had just been in thanks to Lucca's driving. The shockwave sent out from the impact rocked the van and nearly tipped it.  
  
"Shit! We can't blast it." Ray slammed a fist on the console. "We need more power!"  
  
"Ray! Open the rear doors." Alexander fumbled inside a duffel bag for something. "Lucca, get that thing behind us."  
  
"Right!" Lucca began maneuvering while Ray opened the doors.  
  
Alexander held a tan brick in one hand, and a black rod with a red tip in the other. "We shouldn't need this much explosive."  
  
"What about the other bricks, you'll blow us to Esthar!" Ray yelled over the snakes roar.  
  
"Don't worry." The serpent was easily faster than them and was closing in the rear fast, mouth wide open for some SeeD lunch. Alexander flipped a switch on the brick that turned a small light red and chucked it into the serpent's mouth as it got close enough to do so. The snake closed it's mouth over the brick and halted as a light beep sounded and the brick exploded in it's mouth, ripping off the jaws and eyes clear off the body.  
  
"Gross, Alex! That's totally gross!" Ray cringed in disgust.  
  
"Ewwwww... Alex!" Lucca threw in her complaints as well.  
  
"Gross!" Cecil's voice came in over the radio, obviously disgusted.  
  
"That's sick Alex!" Serenity finished off the complaints.  
  
"Well sor-ry for saving our asses." Alexander closed the doors and sat down.  
  
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They found the entrance only a short while after. The entrance was at least fifty feet in radius and stopped twenty feet in with a rusted old blast gate that was cracked open enough for a person to go through. The entire ceiling and walls were unnaturally smooth.  
  
"Let's go." Cecil, still in leather, led the group in.  
  
"This sucks!" Alexander muttered to himself. "I've got well over forty pounds of explosive on my back."  
  
"Wuss." Lucca teased. She was quickly silenced as they entered a half lit room. The entire place was metal and computer screens. The cylindrical room held several pods filled with unhatched eggs the size of the SeeD team combined. Several more were broken open already and the eggs were broken. A large cylinder was in the middle of the room, half broken and easily large enough to hold the serpent from earlier. Alexander set a brick on every unhatched pod and set them for a timer that wasn't active yet.  
  
"This will take care of them." Alexander said to himself. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash. A suit of armor, twice as big as any human, slowly stepped forward and raised a one sided sword as large as itself on it's shoulder with one arm.  
  
"So you are finally here, Beta Five-O-Six."  
  
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And in comes the darkness.... on chapter 13! (odd timing, eh?)  
  
Please pay special attention to the message below............  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Thanks to those who have already reviewed, keep them coming!  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Aqua Azuresky" 


	14. Kyosuke

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Aqua Azuresky" (formerly Rayn)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
-------------------X------------------------------------------------X-------------------------  
  
Chapter 14: Kyosuke, Demonic knight.  
  
"What the hell? Who are you?" Alexander recognized the code number from Dollet and immediately turned to the knight.  
  
The massive pile of metal laughed slowly in it's constantly calm, grim voice. "Come on now, you seriously can't be Beta, can you? I'll admit it, you certainly don't look like one of our brothers."  
  
"Cause I'm not!" His right hand claw snapped into a readied position and Alexander's left hand went straight for his pistol.  
  
"Calm down Beta. No need to get yourself killed."  
  
"What's all this talk about Beta whatever number?" Lucca glared at the knight, fists raised for battle.  
  
"Better yet, who?" It seemed even Cecil had missed most of the conversation.  
  
The knight laughed again. "Beta, tell them who you really are."  
  
"His name is Alex!" Serenity yelled in protest.  
  
"That's what they call you now, Beta? A ridiculous name. No matter." The knight stepped into the lighter side of the room, the light gleaming off of his black armor and massive blade. "The time for words is over, come with me or I will have to kill you, Beta." The man slid into a wide stance, pointing his sword at Alexander's head. "Come at me!"  
  
A loud crash came from Cecil's side as she dropped her black case. It opened to reveal a shiny new gunblade. It was fashioned in the style of Squall's original blade, right down to the engraving of Griever. "You'll have to get past me first, rusty." Cecil raised her blade and stepped in front of Alexander.  
  
The knight yelled and charged right at Cecil, thrusting the blade with all his might. She simply parried the attack and countered with rising slash towards the right arm. "Rusty" could move his sword with amazing speed and simply blocked the attack. He sent a horizontal slash towards Cecil, who flew back several feet and landed on her back, dispite blocking. As she was getting up, he charged at her. He met with a wall halfway there, the rising wall catching one of his feet and flipping him over onto his back.  
  
"Hey! Don't forget about us!" Alexander had his left hand extended towards where the wall had appeared. Behind him, Serenity had charged up a thundaga spell and launched it at the knight. Bolts of lightning streaked through the air, rushing straight into it's target. He yelled in pain as the electricity rippled throughout the armor and his body. Lucca couldn't do much physically, but she could cast a fire spell on the man's visor. He didn't react to the fire spell at all and charged at Alexander.  
  
"Die!" He yelled as he collided with Alexander. Alexander's body wrapped around the man's shoulder as they collided. As he slowly slipped off the man's shoulder, a fist-size brick with a green light had stuck onto the back of the man's armor. Lucca and Serenity saw it immediately and backed away as fast as they could. Even Cecil had backed away. Ray was still nowhere to be seen. Alexander rose to his feet, holding his gut but grinning. The knight charged again, thrusting his blade towards Alexander. He flew forward as the brick on his back blew, landing face first on the ground.  
  
"Well played, Beta. I hope we can fight again. Just look for Kyosuke when you finally are re-united with our family. But, survive this!" Kyosuke rose and expelled electricity from his body, threatening to blow the place sky high with them in it. Just then, the bang of a rifle told exactly where Ray had been. The bullet traveled straight at the slit used as Kyosuke's visor. As it hit, Kyosuke disappeared in a flash of blue light.  
  
"Kyosuke..." Alexander said to himself.  
  
"Alex! Let's finish the mission before anything else pops up." Cecil and the others were already walking out the door.  
  
"One minute, I got to check the explosives."  
  
"Hurry then." As the rest of the team left, Alexander ran to the main computer console. Taking a compact disk form his vest, he downloaded the entire mainframe. After the download, he took the disk, activated the timer, and ran out the door.  
  
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From outside the canyon walls, the explosion was almost nonexistent other than the blast of fire coming out of the entrance. Then a large portion of the wall fell down over the former lab. It was their first mission and it was a success, at least they thought so.  
  
"Nice job guys. We just received confirmation that our mission is an absolute success." Cecil sighed a breath of relief.  
  
"Yup, all thanks to my impeccable aim." Ray laughed.  
  
"You only wish!" Cecil laughed defiantly.  
  
"At least I didn't need rescuing." Ray stuck his tongue out at Cecil.  
  
"I could have taken him. Besides, at least I'm not a total pansy..." Cecil said as the two glared and growled at each other. They were only an inch or so from touching each other. Lucca and Alexander looked at each other and grinned in unison. They both quietly snuck up on the two quarreling and got ready to do their thing, Lucca behind Ray, Alexander behind Cecil.  
  
"Oh yeah I'm miss leader, I'm so perfect, I-" Ray was interrupted as he and Cecil ran into each others arms, lips locked together by the force of Lucca and Alexander's push. Both Ray and Cecil went wide-eyed as they realized what happened.  
  
"What the hell!" Cecil turned away towards Alexander, half glaring and half blushing. Ray tried to hide a ridiculous smile on his face.  
  
"Don't you feel better now that you've kissed and made up?" Serenity laughed.  
  
"Are you implying, US? Yeah right!" Both Cecil and Ray yelled in perfect symmetry, right down to the two turning their backs to each other and folding their arms across their chests.  
  
"Oh, it's so cute! look at the lover's quarrel!" Lucca teased as something ringed in Cecil's pocket.  
  
Cecil picked up her Direct Garden Link and answered the call. "Yes. Right. Okay. Yes sir. Love you too. See you later." She sighed and told the rest of the group the news. "Our next mission has arrived."  
  
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Please pay special attention to the message below............  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Thanks to those who have already reviewed, keep them coming!  
  
in a lame effort to boost review amounts, if by the time I am done with the story (I'm not even close yet, 1/10th at most), I have either 100 people or more who have me on their favorite authors list, or 250+ reviews, I will create an alternate ending/ epilogue. Only 1 review per chapter per person. Flames will not count.  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Aqua Azuresky" 


	15. Welcome to Galbadia Garden!

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Aqua Azuresky" (formerly Rayn)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
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Chapter 15: Welcome to Galbadia Garden!  
  
The SeeD group rode again in the SeeD cabin, this time with Rinoa. It was the train from Timber to G Garden. After their previous mission, they had been immediately called to Timber to meet up with Rinoa.  
  
"Your mission is as follows." Rinoa began. "You are to act as my bodyguards when we get to Galbadia Garden. We are to make a diplomatic visit to the Garden in order to get some inside information. We have reason to believe that Galbadia Garden is preparing to make an alliance with a new sorceress. And also if this will lead to an insurrection against the United Garden Academies."  
  
"How are we going to get this info?" Ray inquired.  
  
"Any means necessary." After a while of silence, Rinoa sighed, opening her mouth to complain to herself. "Thanks a lot, Squall."  
  
"What's wrong mom?" Cecil asked.  
  
"As you know, I got to Timber every six months to visit the Timber Owls. The visit alone makes me miss him so much. Now he goes and sends me on this mission." Rinoa slumped into her chair.  
  
Alexander left the room to go into the guy's cabin. From the PC installed on the back wall, he popped in the disk he had gotten from the last mission. Opening the system files brought up a deep purple screen with a large logo on it that identified it as Requiem Labs. Most of the links were broken but he was able to access to site search feature. The only thing he thought to do was to type in the code that he had heard so often lately. He typed, "Beta 506". The results were only one, an experiment record. Alexander clicked the link to find it still worked.  
  
Serenity peeked her head into the room and saw what Alexander was looking at. As the file loaded, text filled the screen with two tall boxes on either side. Alexander saw the text was mainly glitchy, a kind of greenish blur over most of the text. The two boxes were made for pictures. The one on the right was blurred out but the one on the right showed, him. He read the text quietly to himself, unaware of Serenity's presence. "Beta five-zero-six. Adoptive name; Alexander Saiko. Real name. Son of a bitch!" The text he tried to read was blurred by the green bars that filled the screen. He read on, only able to get fragments. "Synth... error... accident... Winhill Flash...escape..." He pounded the desk in frustration.  
  
"A-Alex?" Serenity began.  
  
"Shit!" He turned off the screen and turned towards Serenity.  
  
"Are you hungry?" She couldn't look at him directly, keeping her head low.  
  
"N-no, I'm just a bit tired, that's all. Yeah... That's it, sleepy." He let out a small nervous laugh.  
  
------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X---------------------  
  
The group stepped off the train to Gabadia Garden station. Immediately, soldiers in red combat fatigues surrounded them and aimed rifles at them.  
  
"So much for a warm welcome." Ray joked as he put up his hands.  
  
"What is your business here?" The commander of the group walked within two paces of the SeeDs.  
  
"I am Rinoa Leonheart, commander of the Forest Owls. These are my bodyguards. We are here on a visit." Rinoa explained.  
  
"Commander Biggs Jr. Sir!" Another soldier ran up to the commander.  
  
"What is it Wedgeie?" Biggs yelled with scorn.  
  
"That's Lieutenant Wedge Jr. Sir!" Wedge said meekly.  
  
"Whatever!"  
  
"The Headmaster Request their presence at Garden, Sir!"  
  
"Tch, fine. Arms down!"  
  
------------------------X------------------------------------------------X-----------------------  
  
The Headmaster of G Garden greeted them warmly at the front of his office. "I am sorry for the troubles caused by the soldiers, Lady Rinoa." He began laying on the thick paste of charm. "They're there as a precaution because of all the recently wrecked trains that have been turning up as of late. But of course, I will not bore you with details. What happens to bring you here, My Lady?" This guy made Alexander sick to his stomach. Dispite the Headmaster being around forty years old, he still possessed all the handsomeness, grace, and charisma he had when he was younger. The smiles he was flashing were so bright, most had to squint to see it.  
  
"I came here to discuss Garden expansion into the south." Rinoa was married but she seemed to be falling slightly for his charm. "After all, there is no Garden in the Southern Continent."  
  
"Great, we'll discuss the matter over dinner tonight. But rest first, you are probably tired after all the traveling." His offer as topped off by the blinding smile of doom.  
  
"That sounds great."  
  
"By the way, may I ask you another question?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why would a woman like yourself need the guards?"  
  
"Every woman needs a strong person to protect them." Rinoa smiled warmly towards the man.  
  
"This one," The headmaster walked over to Alexander. "Looks absolutely useless."  
  
"If you try anything," Alexander seemed to have suddenly become battle hardened and strict. "I will prove your assumption wrong."  
  
"Well, well, aren't we spirited?" He laughed joyously. "Dinner is at seven, your bodyguards will have to dine separately though.  
  
All the guards looked ticked off and Lucca even thought of yelling at him until Rinoa spoke. "That's what I had planned. I'll see you then." Rinoa winked at him before leaving for her room, with the guards right behind her.  
  
----------------------------X----------------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
"Wow! Look at that dress!" Rinoa looked in awe over the extravagant dress laid out over her bed. It was a brand new black sequin cocktail dress. The dress was a quarter size too small and because of it, would cling to her every curve of her body. The front was cut so that "V" shape would extend right to her hips, exposing her stomach and a beyond fair share of her breasts. The backside was cut to expose as much of her back as possible. The skirt was minimal, going only about an inch past the bare minimum. This was obviously a very provocative dress.  
  
"Mother! You aren't going to wear this, are you?" Cecil asked in shock.  
  
"Of course I will, it's diplomatic strategy. He'll try to become dominant by seducing me, I'll distract him with my guns. Or he'll become overconfident and screw up."  
  
"That's dishonorable."  
  
"But it works." Rinoa went to try on the dress, revealing three similar red dresses. Made to Lucca, Cecil, and Serenity's dimensions, they were less revealing though. With all of that, a small card explained the situation.  
  
Cecil read it aloud. "I hope the dresses fit well. The bodyguards will be escorted to an adjacent room where they can monitor our conversation in case something happens. Signed, Headmaster Cidney Akarei."  
  
"Isn't he gracious." Lucca added.  
  
----------------------------X----------------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
"Check the suits, Alex." Ray pointed to a couple of red tuxedo style suits laying on Ray's bed.  
  
"Showy." Alexander said sarcastically.  
  
"There's a card. It says we'll be escorted to a room here we can monitor Rinoa. His name is Cidney Akarei."  
  
"Odd."  
  
----------------------------X----------------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Rinoa and the girls were chatting in their new dresses when there was three loud knocks on the door.  
  
"It is time for your meeting." A female voice came from outside.  
  
"Let's go." Rinoa motioned the girls over and opened the door. A female cadet stood at the door in typical cadet clothing. Behind her was Alexander and Ray, Ray decked out in the red tux. Alexander spoiled the fun by not wearing his suit and was leaning up against the wall boredly. He had no weapons on him.  
  
"Somebody decided to spoil the fun." Lucca teased.  
  
"The clothes were way to tight." Alexander said casually.  
  
"You're no fun." Lucca laughed lightly.  
  
"May we go now?" The cadet said impatiently. She began walking immediately, the rest following happily. Except Alexander, who followed at the rear. Ray was hanging back as well, getting a good view as he normally would.  
  
----------------------------X----------------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Cidney stood before the group in a tux that was as extravagant as Rinoa's dress. It was ruby red with gold trim and decorations along the seams. It made Alexander sick. The girls seemed to like it though.  
  
"It seems that my suit was not satisfactory?" Cidney asked Alexander. Cidney looked at Alexander like he was a stain on his tux.  
  
"Not my style. It was too tight anyhow." Alexander stared at Cidney with one eye, looking for once, somewhat similar to a badass.  
  
"Well Lady Rinoa, shall we?" Cidney motioned to the door of his dining hall. "Your bodyguards may go to that room next to the dining hall."  
  
"Let's go then." Rinoa smiled as Cidney opened the door for her and she slipped inside, shortly followed by Cidney. The body guards went into their room, Alex at the rear.  
  
A large, one-sided window separated the two rooms. The bodyguards could see through on their side and saw Rinoa and Cidney at opposite ends of a long table. There were lit candles, flowers, and a huge feast not suited for two people. The bodyguards had slightly less but it was just as pleasing to the eye. Alexander noticed more, the thick lexan separating the rooms, only one vent shaft up thirty feet and smaller than any of their bodies, and the walls were steel. He knew they were trapped.  
  
"Ah, hell!" Ray shouted out. "The doors locked!"  
  
"We're locked in?" Lucca looked about in panic.  
  
Alexander began reading the lips of the two diplomats, uncaring about the situation.  
  
"So let's get to business." Rinoa said calmly.  
  
"There won't be another Garden, Rinoa." Cidney said matter-of-factly. "Esthar and Balamb will fall shortly." Cidney laughed slightly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I have an alliance with the new sorceress. She may be young, but she's got power."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"We are but mercenaries."  
  
"You would sell your own mother if the price were right, wouldn't you?"  
  
"I know of your plan to expose me to the public. I won't let you. Squall was a fool, to send you to meet with me. You should leave him. We're a much better pair." Alexander put on a face mask that covered the bottom half of his face. "I'm sorry." He picked up a gun and shot Rinoa with a tranquilizer dart. She fell immediately.  
  
"That ass!" Lucca yelled. Cidney, through the wall, waved goodbye to the bodyguards. Thick smoke filled the room and the bodyguards fell.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
The SeeDs found themselves in a holding cell, tied and gagged by metal bonds. Cidney stood with two guards, and stared with scorn at the seeds.  
  
"You all are pathetic." Cidney laughed. "Real guards would have not worn those clothes. They are so tight, one can't fight well. Also you can't hide weapons. Then you all foolishly went into that room. You two keep them here until Meteora gets here. Other than that, you may do to them whatever you wish." With that he walked off, revealing behind him, Alexander's vest and it's weapon covered inside.  
  
While the others found it useless to get out of their bonds, Alexander turned away from the guards and spat a small pin past his gag and into his hand. He began to fumble around with the pin, eventually hearing the faint click of success as the bonds opened. He went on to his feet while the guards unlocked the cell door and began unlocking the others, Serenity and Lucca first, then Ray and Cecil. When they got to Alexander, he jumped up, holding his bonds in his left hand. He had no idea the others had been undone until that moment.  
  
"Nice job." The smaller of the two laughed with a fairly light tone to his voice.  
  
"All for nothing..." Alexander hung his head in disappointment.  
  
"So what's the deal?" Cecil asked.  
  
"We don't like this new sorceress." The larger guard had as large of a voice as his body.  
  
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." The other added.  
  
"Geeze. An insurrection inside an insurrection. What's next?" Ray shook his head.  
  
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Please pay special attention to the message below............  
  
Please Read and Review. If you like it, I'll post some more, if not, well, sucks to be me. Thanks to those who have already reviewed, keep them coming! Constructive criticism is welcome, if not, more.  
  
Thanks.  
  
"Aqua Azuresky" 


	16. Escape from Galbadia Garden

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Aqua Azuresky"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks.  
  
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Chapter 16: Escape form Galbadia Garden.  
  
"So, where's our stuff?" Lucca asked.  
  
"There is a confiscated items room near the entrance to the Garden. And the one who came with you is up in the headmasters room." The shorter, but by no means short, one of the two said bluntly.  
  
"Mother takes priority. Let's go." Cecil began running to the door.  
  
"Lucca, Ray, follow her. I secure our weapons with Serenity." Alexander said as Cecil was halfway to the door.  
  
"I'll go with the three." The taller one ran after Cecil, followed not a second later by Ray and Lucca. The four were gone immediately, leaving the other guard and Serenity with Alexander.  
  
"You'll need a guide, and someone who can fight." The guard said flatly.  
  
"I can fight without weapons." Serenity said confidently.  
  
"And you?"  
  
"I can't even fight when I do have weapons." Alexander laughed.  
  
"By the way, my name is Luther Vailo, stealth specialist." Looking at him, he was about as tall as Ray. His clothing was very plain, a black pair of jeans and a black tee-shirt. His face had soft features that didn't seem to fit with his eyes. The emerald green eyes of his were sharper than a sword and reflected little light. He had short cropped brown hair that was parted to keep it out of his eyes.  
  
"Nice to meet you and all. I'm Alexander, med specialist. And she's Serenity, offensive magic. Now let's get to our job." Alexander tried not to sound too rude, but time was of the essence now.  
  
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"All right, this is the headmaster's room, right?" Cecil was crouched behind a corner leading to an ornate pair of doors.  
  
"Yes, he's in that room with Rinoa." The guard said. His name was Zio Peterson. He had a tall, well-built body and would have no problem handling the twin axes strapped to his back. He only wore a red tee-shirt that stretched tight across his body and a pair of blue jeans. His face was all about sharp, defining features that matched the sharp mercenary stare of his nearly black eyes. His raven black hair was short cut and swept back with minimal use of gel.  
  
Cecil ran into the hallway and barged through the twin doors, followed shortly by the others. Sidney stood above Rinoa, who was passed out on his bed. He wore no pants and had his hands on her dress when Cecil busted through. He turned the top half of his body towards Cecil and turned fully when he recognized his guard.  
  
"What the hell! Why are they here?" He screamed at Zio.  
  
Ray had his back turned and looked like he was going to be sick. "Put some freaking pants on!"  
  
Cecil had no reservations and charged right at Sidney, throwing a punch into his face. He collapsed backwards onto the bed, sitting in between Rinoa's legs. She then grabbed Sidney and threw him off of the bed and into a ceramic pot. He was down and wasn't coming back up for quite a while.  
  
"Is it safe to open my eyes now?" Ray asked.  
  
"Yes, idiot..." Cecil rolled her eyes and went over to her mother.  
  
While Cecil tried to wake Rinoa, Ray grabbed a blanket and covered Sidney with it, he didn't want to look at that ass's ass anymore. Rinoa woke only a while after, yawning as if she had been taking a nap.  
  
"What's up?" Rinoa asked tiredly.  
  
"We gotta get out of here. The others are securing our escape." Cecil helped her mother up.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Alexander had gathered their stuff into a pile, including their clothes. All he had to put on was his vest and weapons, but he had to leave Serenity to fully change out of her dress. Luther had left to get the others. As soon as Serenity was finished, she called him into the room.  
  
"Alex... Isn't it going to be hard to escape when the sorceress gets here?" She asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah." He replied just as silently.  
  
"Even if she wasn't here, we'd be easily caught if we flee. They have those flight suits."  
  
"Yeah." Alexander turned around in disappointment, only to spot the answer to the unspoken question.  
  
"How can we get out of here?" She sighed, followed by the sound of Alexander's laughing. "Alex?"  
  
Alexander held a large metal board in his hands. It was taller than him and had a small box with a few switches and knobs attached to it by a cord. "T-Boards!"  
  
"They're in here. Don't worry about them." Luther led the rest of the group into the room. "All your stuff is here too."  
  
Ray grabbed his weapons and clothes before Lucca, Cecil, and Rinoa shoved him out to change. After recovering from the initial shock, he counted silently to fifteen. He cracked open the door slightly so he could see inside.  
  
"Ray! This is no time to be peeping." Alexander warned him.  
  
"There is no bad time for a sneak peak." Ray laughed to himself. He did get a good view of the three women. They were all covered, but only by their panties. Before he could gaze any more, Serenity and Alexander both dragged him from the door.  
  
"Idiot!" Alexander and Serenity said at the same time.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Alexander went back into the room and started passing out T-Boards all around. Shortly after, the group was able to make it to a place where they could leave unnoticed without being discovered by any other soldiers. Alexander pointed out their next destination as a large airship landed in their path.  
  
"Damn! Now were fucked..." Zio muttered under his breath.  
  
"Attention Beta 506! You will not escape me any more." The intercom blared out and seconds later, the side hatch opened to reveal the girl from Dollet. "Beta! Come to me and I'll consider letting your friends go."  
  
"Let them leave and I'll willingly go with you." Alexander shouted.  
  
"What?" Lucca glared at him.  
  
"Go willingly? You might as well ask me to kill myself." Alexander laughed. "She's after me, when I go, get out of here. I'll distract her."  
  
"Beta? What? Tell us what's going on." Zio growled.  
  
"Not even I know!" Alexander took a deep breath and went forward, full-throttle, on the T-board. He heard several other boards spring into action and go in another direction. True to his words, he was the only one of interest. The girl blasted the earth underneath him, jagged rocks jutting upwards and knocking him off his board. As he got up, the girl was only fifteen feet from him. Even worse to him, Serenity and Lucca were behind him.  
  
"You should have left!" He said as he got up.  
  
"No way! This little bitch is gonna pay for what she did to you." Lucca glared at the girl with a stare that could put Cecil to shame.  
  
"Oh, how disgustingly sweet... You should have listened to that fool. I am the sorceress Meteora! You would be wise to run now!" Meteora laughed wickedly. She cast her arms upward and threw them down again as a bolt of lightning hit the ground, exploding into a mass of light and force. The three were knocked to the ground and all but Alexander stayed there from the pain. He got up and stood hung over, grinning.  
  
A small hole opened up only a few feet ahead of Alexander. Out of it, two bluish-green ears peeked up. Then Carbie lept up out of the hole. A light shone from the jewel on it's head and a blinding flash hit everyone. As the flash died, Carbie was gone but it left a lasting effect. Serenity and Lucca were up and fully healed, and all three were floating above the jagged ground. Alexander had his hand in his vest, clutching three small vials. As Meteora looked on, he threw the cases, one causing another blinding flash, and the others spewing forth smoke in a thick black cloud.  
  
The three ran.  
  
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I might discontinue this story because I haven't gotten any feedback from the last couple chapters. Either my story has bombed out, or tis ain't the season for fanfics.  
  
Please review. Thanks.  
  
"Aqua Azuresky" 


	17. Dead on Arrival

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Aqua Azuresky"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks. I am also not affiliated with the god of RPG's, Square Enix, also known as Squenix...  
  
-------------------X------------------------------------------------X-------------------------  
  
Chapter 17: Dead on Arrival.  
  
Alexander lay gasping for air against a tall cliff. He had paled from exhaustion, was sweating sponge-loads, and had wounds all along his body. Images crossed his mind as he lay in exhaustion.  
  
Lucca and Serenity were already on their T-Boards and he wasn't that far behind them. The harrier jets of the gunship began blowing aside the smoke screen. As the ship rose, he saw Meteora in the deployment bay of the ship, charging up some spell.  
  
He could hear the gunship passing overhead.  
  
She fired spells at him like crazy, fire spells that blasted around him. He dodged side to side, feeling the heat of each blast. An explosion erupted from under him as one of the spells connected with the thrust jets of the board. He flew off the board and into the dirt, scraping against the rocky ground as he rolled. The girls never knew he fell, and had ridden off into the canyons. He got up and began to run.  
  
He tried to scoot himself as far into the wall as possible, but it was only a matter of time now.  
  
The winds began to pick up as he ran for the canyons himself. He had cast a quick haste spell while he was down, but he had no chance of out running the ship. A glance behind revealed a tornado formed behind him. It picked up rocks and threw them at him, an occasional hit cutting another gash in his body.  
  
The ship flew right over his position, he was certain they had found him, but he couldn't move.  
  
He made it to the canyons in one piece. The tornado had died, only to be replaced by an earthquake. Rocks fell all around him in the narrow space he had. He still ran trying to dodge anything that came his way. He ducked under a large merge in the canyon walls above him. As the ship passed the sight restriction, he was gone.  
  
He felt cold, and he curled up into a ball, tucking his knees into his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. His breath was visible in front of him, even if it was noon in the middle of summer. He couldn't think of anything but the coldness that swept over him and dominated his body. Even as the ship hovered only twenty feet away, all he could sense was the increased cold from the harrier jets.  
  
"Beta! It seems you have stopped resisting me. Perhaps you know you can't escape." Meteora yelled from thirty feet in the air. Alexander could do nothing but shiver, and the shaking became more violent, visible from Meteora's position even. His breath was staggered and let out only the frozen fog of the cold. Two bolts of energy flew across the sky and past Meteora's ship, neither connecting but blasting craters into the canyon.  
  
"Get out of this area immediately!" A loud voice came from one of two Rangarok Carriers, smaller gray versions of the Rangarok. The gunship left with no hesitation, few were willing to get into a dogfight with one of the Carriers.  
  
Alexander didn't see the Rangaroks, but only black. His eyes had frozen shut from sweat and tears formed by closing them too tightly. The wounds on his body were frozen over in blood.  
  
"Alex!" Serenity called, jumping out of the Carrier before it had even landed and rushing over to his side.  
  
"C-cold..." Was all that Alexander could manage to say. She laid a hand on his shoulder and immediately withdrew it in horror. His body was as cold as a corpse.  
  
------------------------X----------------------------------------------X----------------------  
  
Alexander finally opened his eyes in the dead of night. He figured it was about midnight, since he could see very little. He could see he was back in Balamb Garden, in the infirmary. He also realized that Serenity was next to him, sleeping in a chair. Even in her sleep, she wore the look of extreme worry on her face. He got up and out of his bed quietly so he wouldn't disturb her. He only had the rags that were pants to clothe him, so if he were caught in the halls, it would be a bad situation. But, placing his blanket around Serenity, he left on a quest to get some clothes on.  
  
The halls were quiet at this hour, not even the night watch was awake it seemed. Taking the path past the quad, he made it to the dorms, no problem. Getting to his room was no problem either, so quietly he opened the door and entered. Carbie had taken his usual position on the pillow and had another Carbuncle next to him. This carbuncle was pink of all colors, and had a sapphire in it's head.  
  
"Carbie's got a girlfriend..." Alexander sung quietly to himself as he opened his closet. Aside from his uniforms, he had only a few sets of clothes, enough to last him a week. He picked out a outfit in no time at all, never paying heed to style. But first he took a shower to clean off. Then he changed into his new getup, a dark blue pair of cargo pants and a light blue tee-shirt. Also he carried a short sleeve jacket the matched his pants. He didn't notice it in the bathroom, but the outfit matched some of his hair, which had turned light blue where there used to be weak highlights. He decided to head back to the infirmary, so he wouldn't disturb Carbie.  
  
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Serenity woke to see Alexander in a fresh set of clothes and showered. He didn't have a blanket and she realized it was around her. When she looked at Alexander again, he was waking up, opening his eyes only so much. His stomach growled at him, having been empty for some time. He rose only enough to look at his stomach and mutter a curse at it. Before much else, Serenity jumped onto him, assaulting him with a shy smile and a big hug.  
  
"Alex! You're alive!" She squeezed the fun out of him and held her head back in front of his face, not an inch between the two. She hesitated before getting off him and turning around, blushing over what she had just done. "I'm so sorry..." She had become shy again, looking at her feet in embarrassment.  
  
Alexander had turned his head and looked a bit embarrassed himself. "It's okay. How about we get some breakfast?"  
  
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Yay, Blurg! Blurg? *looks in dictionary* My summary worked? Wow. o_O  
  
Zell came to me in a dream (turkey always gives me odd dreams...). He told me to never give up. He also told me an inspirational story about him finally getting his first hot dog... I salute you Zell!  
  
Please review. Thanks.  
  
"Aqua Azuresky" 


	18. A New Challenge

Final Fantasy 8 - Next Generation  
  
By: "Aqua Azuresky"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its trademarks. I am also not affiliated with the god of RPG's, Square Enix, also known as Squenix...  
  
-------------------X------------------------------------------------X-------------------------  
  
Chapter 18: A New Challenge.  
  
"Hey, Serenity," Alexander began, "do you mind if we stop by my dorm? Carbie's probably hungry."  
  
"Carbie?" Serenity pondered.  
  
"Yeah, he's a Carbuncle GF, you remember the one from Galbadia?"  
  
"Oh, yeah! Let's go." She timidly grabbed him by the hand and led him off to the dormitory.  
  
When Alexander opened the door, Carbie and his "girlfriend" were wrestling with each other on his bed, messing up the sheets. The two froze and stared at the two humans in shock.  
  
"Are you two hungry?" Alexander asked casually. The two immediately lept off the bed and dashed out the door, dancing around Serenity's feet.  
  
"How cute! I thought there was only one." Serenity crouched down to play with the two GF's.  
  
"Carbie is the blue one, the other one seems to be his girlfriend or something." Alexander said with a shrug.  
  
"That's funny, Carbie got a girlfriend before you did."  
  
Alexander flinched, although Serenity didn't see it. "Alrighty, how about breakfast..."  
  
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When Serenity and Alex got into the cafeteria, Irvine was sitting with the rest of the group, including Zio and Luther. They had a large plate of French-style toast in front of them and there were two empty seats.  
  
"So, now you guys get to go to the land of the fish..." Irvine concluded.  
  
"Huh?" Alexander said, himself and Carbie sharing the same expression.  
  
"Hey Alex! You finally woke up. I was telling your teammates about the tournament you guys were invited to. It's in Fisherman's Horizon, cool huh?"  
  
"Invited? To participate?"  
  
"Yeah, popsicle-man. Still got a brain freeze?" Irvine laughed.  
  
"What kind of tournament?" Unknowing of his own freezing over.  
  
"War games, of course. Stealth, one-on-one, team fighting, sniping, and jousting."  
  
Alexander sighed, "All of which I'm no good at."  
  
"You are jousting." Cecil interrupted. "Rays got the marksmanship, Lucca, Zio, and I got the one-on-one, the team is all of us, and Serenity is partnered up with Luther for the stealth competition."  
  
"Joust?" Alexander slumped into a chair. "I'll get creamed."  
  
"You are the only one good with Chocobos. Besides, all members of the team must compete in different events, with the exception of team fighting. most there won't have half the skill you have with the birds." Cecil brushed off his complaint. At this, Carbie jumped up on the table and snatched a piece of toast for himself and his friend.  
  
"You can do it easily, Alex!" Serenity said optimistically.  
  
"I'll get completely ran through." He muttered to himself.  
  
"Hey Alex, what's with the blue streaks in your hair anyway?" Lucca quickly changed the subject.  
  
"Huh?" He looked at a clump of his hair in a nearby mirror, indeed his hair was half blue, half dirt blond. "How the heck?"  
  
"Yeah, it's been like that since we found you frozen." Serenity added.  
  
"Frozen?" Alexander remembered a few scenes from what he thought was yesterday. "I have no idea, some odd prank maybe?"  
  
"I-I have to go now..." Serenity left quickly, followed by the pink Carbuncle.  
  
"What got into her?" Luther wondered.  
  
"I'll bet twenty-five large you can't out-shoot me." Ray was boasting to Irvine.  
  
"You couldn't out shoot me with a fifty-yard handicap. You're on!" Irvine fired back.  
  
"You're so rusty, you couldn't hit the broad side of a Garden."  
  
"You wanna bet?"  
  
"We just did!"  
  
"Anyway, you all leave in two days, prepare well." Irvine led Ray off toward the training center.  
  
"Two days? We just got back yesterday!" Alexander complained.  
  
"You were out for two weeks." Lucca told him.  
  
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Serenity heard the blasts of gunshots form inside the training center. A T-Rexaurs roar broke through the shots only for a few seconds before the gunshots could be heard again. As she hesitantly went inside, she could see the shape of a T falling to the ground with an agonized roar. It must have been Ray or Irvine firing off shots, maybe even both trying to out do each other. As she went through the metal barriers, she not only saw the remnants of the T, but a swarm of Geezards, Grats, and Bite Bugs either dead of rushing around one person. She could only see the flashes of a blade as it swept along the tendrils of three Grats and severed them completely. Five shots rang out from a gun and just as many Bite Bugs fell in formation only an instant later. The blades would rip through the bodies of the Grats and Geezards while shots took down the Bugs, one at a time. At last she got a visual on who was surrounded. It was none other than Alexander, cut and bludgeoned half to death.  
  
She couldn't move, mesmerized by the way he fought. Wide arcs from his claw ripped along the monsters near him while the gun took out the flying pests with flawless accuracy. His blades pierced a Geezard by the head and lifted it into the air, only to got through another Grat and leave the two in a heap. His reloads were fast, dropping a clip and snapping a new one from his belt within fractions of a second. By the time she was able to move, only a few more monsters remained alive, only two flights of Bugs, two Geezeards, and three Grats, out of a heaping pile of corpses stacked as high as the T itself. All the monsters were running away, but he didn't even pause.  
  
The reason came with a deafening roar from behind Serenity. She immediately hit the dirt, cowering from the T behind her. Alexander held his right hand forward, chanting quickly as the T strolled toward Serenity. Silvery tendrils rose and wrapped around the T, binding it just steps away from Serenity. It slowly encased the T and began to harden, taking the form of hard granite. Light flashed from inside the rock as it completed it's task, leaving the T as only a mere gray statue of it's former self.  
  
He didn't get to celebrate his victory, as another T tail swept him off of his feet and straight through a tree. He was going to be okay, but he wasn't getting up anytime in the immediate future. The T stomped next to Alexander, raising it's head to roar before clamping down on it's target. As it lunged, it flew sideways, away from Alexander. A blast of fire, most likely Fira knocked the T right over. As it got up, Serenity was there in front of Alexander.  
  
Her eyes had gone blood red with fury and flames burned from them like coals. Wind rushed about her, fanning her now golden hair about her. Flames had engulfed her outstretched hands and burned more brilliantly than ever. Wings of fire had sprouted on her back, the wings of an angel in flames. She made a wide arc with her hands and thrust them forward again, sending a vortex of fire and sulfur around the T. The sprinkler system activated but the fire grew stronger, engulfing the whole of the T. And suddenly it all disappeared, the wings, the flames, the T, the vortex, all of it gone. Only the scorched ground and the fading red in Serenity's eyes remained. As the fire in her eyes faded, she was left with golden blond highlights in her soft brown hair. Without thinking she rushed to Alexander as quickly as she could.  
  
"Alex! Are you okay?" She held him in her arms, cradling his head, face filled with concern.  
  
"How did you do that?" Alexander laughed weakly. "That was sweet!" At this time, a group of cadets made their way to the scene of the battle.  
  
"Holy shit!" one said, "How the heck?", "What happened?", and other shouts came from the others. Alexander slowly got to his feet and cast cure on himself, closing the majority of his wounds.  
  
"How come you told us you couldn't fight?" Serenity asked him.  
  
"Because I didn't know I could. I never took a class on fighting." Alexander replied.  
  
"The T-Rexaur, it's, it's..." Another cadet stared in wonder. "It's stoned!"  
  
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My first bit of review since the 13th chapter, YAY! I got SIX whole fans now! (Victory dance!). Now all you people out there who have abandoned fanfics that others liked, keep writing! If even you are making only one person happy, isn't it worth it?  
  
Please review. Thanks.  
  
"Aqua Azuresky" 


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